As many as 46.6 million new jobs were created in the Indian economy during 2023-24, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

The total number of people employed in the country rose from 596.7 million in 2022-23 to 643.3 million in the financial year ended on March 31, 2024.

While an average of 20 million jobs was created between 2017-18 and 2021-22, the number more than doubled during 2023-24, the data shows.

The RBI’s KLEMS database covers five key inputs of production -- Capital (K), Labour (L), Energy (E), Materials (M), and Services (S). The database is created for 27 industries aggregated to form six sectors that cover the entire economy.

The RBI has also for the first time made a provisional estimate of productivity for the total economy in FY24 based on the available information.

This reflects the quality of labour in the economy based on the education level of the workers. The data shows an increase in employment across education levels and age groups. The unemployment ratio has gone down to 1.4 per cent in FY24 from 2.2 per cent in FY18.

The services sector, excluding construction, is now absorbing most of the workforce that is moving out of agriculture. This is in sharp contrast to the 2000-2011 period when the construction sector was providing the bulk of jobs to the workforce.

The data also shows that high-skilled activities, such as financial and business services, education and health care, are seeing an increase in the share of educated workers.

--IANS