India needs one crore new jobs to maintain average growth of 6.5% by FY30, claims report

New Delhi| India will need about 10 million new jobs every year from FY25 to FY30 to maintain an average GVA (gross value added) growth of 6.5 percent annually. This claim has been made in a report by Goldman Sachs.

According to the report encouraging affordable housing development can boost the real estate sector, it employs more than 80 per cent of the labor force in the area of construction. Apart from this, it will also provide a significant boost to employment generation in various skill levels. Establishing IT hubs in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in smaller cities will reduce pressure on tier-1 urban centers and increase employment opportunities in underserved areas.

Shifting fiscal incentives towards labor-intensive manufacturing sectors such as textiles, food processing and furniture can support job creation for low – to medium-skilled workers. The report said production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes have mainly benefited capital-intensive industries. Goldman Sachs has spoken of an encouraging turnaround in more labor-intensive sectors, including textiles, footwear, toys and leather goods.

In the last two decades, about 19.6 crore jobs were created in India, two-thirds of these posts were created in the last decade. During this time, there have been significant changes as more workers switched from agriculture to construction and the service sector. According to the report, the construction sector accounts for about 13 per cent of total jobs. This has boosted jobs through investment in real estate and infrastructure. Retail trade has benefited from digital transformation, with retailers moving to online platforms, creating new roles in areas such as inventory management, packaging and delivery services.