Employment rises, but wages fail to match inflation

Arvind Virmani, a member of Niti Aayog, stated that while employment in India is rising, real wages for regular jobs have not kept up with inflation over the past seven years. The worker-population ratio increased to 43.7% in 2023-24 from 34.7% in 2017-18. Virmani noted that casual workers have seen wage improvements, but regular salaried jobs lag behind. He attributed stagnant wages to a lack of skills and emphasized the need for better education and training at all levels. He highlighted the importance of skill development for both current workers and new entrants. Improving education quality is essential to take advantage of global demographic opportunities and enhance productivity and wages.