Modi govt created 17.9 crore jobs; UPA could create only 2.9 crore: Mandaviya responds to Opposition criticism

New Delhi: Seeking to blunt Opposition criticism over the issue of unemployment, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said the UPA government under Manmohan Singh could create only 2.9 crore additional jobs during its 10 years of rule while the Narendra Modi government had created 17.19 crore new jobs.

He also said total employment in the country has increased by 36 per cent from 47.15 crore in 2014-15 to 64.33 crore in 2023-24 while the rise was only 7 per cent from 44.23 crore in 2003-04 to 47.15 crore in 2014-15.

"In the last one year (2023-24) alone, the Modi government has created 4.6 crore jobs. These are not my figures but that of the RBI. RBI has released such figures during UPA's time also. This is not one created by us," Mandaviya told reporters.

Giving sector-wise data to target the Opposition, Mandaviya said employment in the agriculture sector declined by 16 per cent between 2004 to 2014 under the UPA government whereas it has grown by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2023 under the Modi regime.

Similarly in the manufacturing sector, he said employment grew by just 6 per cent between 2004 to 2014 while it rose by 15 per cent between 2014-2023. In the service sector, the employment growth during the UPA regime was 25 per cent while it was 36 per cent during the Modi-led NDA regime.

The minister also said the unemployment rate dropped from 6 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023-24 while the employment rate grew from 46.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 58.2 per cent in 2023-24. The labour force participation rate grew from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 60.1 per cent in 2023-24.

Speaking on trends in employability and employment among youth, Mandaviya said the employability of graduate youths "grew significantly" from 33.95 per cent in 2013 to 54.81 per cent in 2024.

The youth employment rate grew from 31.4 per cent in 2017-18 to 41.7 per cent in 2023-24 while youth unemployment rate dropped from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10.2 per cent in 2023-24, he said.

"In the last seven years (between 2017 September - 2024 September) over 4.7 crore youth (18-28 years) have joined EPFO fold," Mandaviya added.