Employment and Unemployment Class 12 Important Questions and Answers Indian Economy Chapter 7

Important Questions of Employment and Unemployment Class 12 Indian Economy Chapter 7

Question 1.
State the importance of studying the worker population ratio.
Answer:
It is important to study the worker population ratio because it gives an insight on the employment situation of the country.

Question 2.
Who is a worker? (NCERT)
Answer:
A worker is an individual who is doing some productive work to earn a living.

Question 3.
Raj is going to school. When he is not in school, you will find him working in his farm. Can you consider him a worker? Why? NCERT
Answer:
Raj is not a worker because he is not actively engaged in production activity. Workers include all those who are fit for work and are willing and available to work. Workers do not include children, old people, handicapped etc.

Question 4.
Meena is a housewife. Besides taking care of household chores, she works in the cloth shop which is owned and operated by her husband. Can she be considered a worker? Why? (NCERT)
Answer:
Meena is a self-employed worker. Even though she is working in her husband’s cloth shop, she will be considered as a worker.

Question 5.
Who is a casual wage labourer? (NCERT)
Answer:
Those people who are not hired by their employers on a regular/permanent basis and do not get social security benefits, are said to be casual workers/ labourers, e.g. Construction workers.

Question 6.
What is meant by employment?
Answer:
Employment means an activity which helps an individual to earn his living.

Question 7.
Who are self-employed workers?
Answer:
The workers who own and operate an enterprise to earn their livelihood are referred to as self-employed workers.

Question 8.
Who are hired workers?
Answer:
Those people who are hired by others and are paid wages or salaries as a reward for their services are called hired workers.

Question 9.
Which type of work is preferred by female workers? Why?
Answer:
Female workers give preference to self-employment. It is because women, both in rural and urban areas are less mobile.

Question 10.
Explain the term ‘casualisation of workforce’.
Answer:
The movement of labour from regular salaried work to casual wage work is referred to as casualisation of workforce.

Question 11.
What is meant by ‘jobless growth’?
Answer:
It is a phenomenon which means that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country is rising but without a corresponding increase in employment opportunities.

Question 12.
Explain the meaning of informalisation of workforce.
Answer:
It implies that there is a continuous decline in the percentage of workforce in the formal sector and a corresponding rise in the percentage of workers in informal sector.

Question 13.
Which establishments are referred to as formal sector establishments?
Answer:
All public sector establishments and those private sector establishments which employ 10 or more hired workers are called formal sector establishments.

Question 14.
Why is employment an important component of the Indian development policy?
Answer:
Employment is considered important in the Indiari development policy because of the following reasons

More employment will lead to higher level of national income since, production and employment are directly related.
Employment is crucial to removal of poverty.

Question 15.
Explain the terms labour supply, labour force and workforce.
Answer:
Labour supply: It refers to the number of persons willing to work at different wage rates. It depends upon the existing wage rate and is measured in terms of man days. Labour force It refers to the number of persons actually working or willing to work. It does not depend upon the wage rate and is measured in terms of number of days.

Workforce: It refers to the number of persons actually working. This measure does not include those persons who are willing to work but are not getting work.

Question 16.
It is not easy to maintain an employment growth rate of 2% for a country like India. Why?
Answer:
The rate of investment and choice of technology determine the growth rate of employment. The emphasise on growth of the economy through modernisation of production techniques has resulted in jobless growth in India. The modern techniques use capital intensive method of production, which is cost effective and gives more output by employing less labour. Therefore, it has been difficult to maintain an employment growth rate of 2% for our country.

Question 18.
Analyse the recent trends in sectoral distribution of workforce in India. (NCERT)
Answer:
Distribution of workforce in industrial sector shows substantial shift from farm work to non-farm work. In 1999-2000, about 60% of workforce was engaged in primary sector and in 2009-10, this proportion has declined to 37.2%. Secondary and tertiary sectors showed increase from 16% to 21.5% and 24% to 25.3% respectively. This indicates that the economy is progressing.

Question 19.
Victor is able to get work only for two hours in a day. Rest of the day, he is looking for work. Is he unemployed? Why? What kind of jobs could persons like Victor be doing? (NCERT)
Answer:
No, Victor is employed because he works for two hours daily for which he is paid. He is a casual worker. Victor might be doing jobs on a casual basis, such as painting a house, plumbing work, working as an electrician, distributing newspaper, milk etc.

Question 20.
Explain the role of trade unions in the protection of workforce.
Answer:
Trade unions are voluntary organisations of workers formed to promote and protect the interests of workers through collective action. Workers use.trade unions as their representative voice to demand their rights and improve their living and working conditions.

The formation of trade unions was a reaction against the mechanisms of pauperisation, low pay, long working hours, child labour and generally appalling working conditions. Thus, the role of trade unions is to fight against poverty of workers, exploitation and the violation of their basic human dignity and to promote social justice in the global economy.

Question 21.
How will you know whether a worker is working in the informal sector? (NCERT)
Answer:
From the following points, we can know whether a worker is working in the informal sector

The number of workers employed is less than 10.
The workers are not entitled to social security schemes.
The workers are not allowed to form trade unions.
The workers are not protected by labour laws.

Question 22.
Labour force participation rate is very low in India. What measures will you suggest to raise labour force participation rate?
Answer:
I would suggest following measures to raise labour force participation rate

There should be drastic reduction in birth and death rates to improve the age structure of population.
There should be more and more opportunities for women to participate in economic activities.
The general standard of health of the population must be raised.
Employment opportunities should be increased.

Question 23.
Compared to women, more men are found working in India. Why is this trend witnessed in India?
Answer:
The participation rate of women in the employment market, for both, rural and urban areas, is quite low. Some of the reasons for such a low rate are given below

India is typically a male dominated country. Because of this, females are accorded secondary status and parents do not take steps to educate them.
Even if they are educated, the social beliefs and set-up discourages them to work.

Question 24.
Is it necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector? Why? (NCERT)
Answer:
Yes, it is necessary to generate employment in the formal sector than in the informal sector because those who work in the informal sector do not get any regular income and do not get protection from the government. Workers are dismissed without any compensation. Technology used is outdated and they also do not maintain any accounts. Workers live in slums or badly built houses.

Those who work in the formal sector on the other hand earn more than those in the informal sector and also enjoy social benefits. It is thus, necessary to generate more employment in the formal sector.

Question 25.
What changes should be incorporated in the employment policy in the present context?
Answer:
Following changes should be incorporated in the employment policy in India in the present context

The employment policy should emphasise on both complete and more productive employment.
Employment policy must have the objective of higher rate of capital formation.
Employment should be generated in the normal process of development.
Employment policy should give more emphasis to self-employment.
Measures should be taken to increase employment opportunities for women.
Emergence of destabilising factors in the economy should be avoided through greater efficiency in planning.
There should be an effective reform of the educational system. Emphasis should be on vocational and technical knowledge.
Cottage industry should be promoted to reduce seasonal unemployment

Question 26.
Give the differences between formal sector and informal sector.
Answer:
Differences between formal sector and informal sector:

Formal Sector	Informal Sector
All public and private sector establishments which employ 10 or more hired workers comprise the formal sector.	All establishments which employ less than 10 workers comprise the informal sector.
Government exercises control over this sector by .passing necessary acts and formulating rules and regulations.	Government has no control over this sector. Except for the Minimum Wages Act, no other act is applicable on this sector.
Workers working in this sector are entitled to social security benefits.	Workers working in this sector are not entitled to social security benefits.
The workers working in formal sector have a right to form trade unions.	The workers working in informal sector do not enjoy any such right.
Formal sector offers better pay scales to its workers.	The pay scales in the informal sector are comparatively low.
Workers working in formal sector enjoy job security. They cannot be dismissed without giving them a due notice and/or compensation.	Workers working in informal sector does not enjoy job security. They can be dismissed without a notice and no compensation is offered to them.

Question 27.
Compared to urban women more rural women are found working. Why? (NCERT)
Answer:
The difference in participation rates is very high between urban and rural women. In urban areas, for every 100 urban females, only about 14 are engaged in some economic activities. In rural areas, for every 100 rural women, about 26 participate in the employment market.

It is common to find that where men are able to earn high incomes, families discourage female members from taking up jobs. Earnings of urban male workers are generally higher than rural males and so urban families do not want females to work.

Apart from this, many activities of the household in which urban women are engaged, are not recognised as productive work, while women working on farms in the rural areas are considered a part of the workforce if they are being paid wages in cash or in the form of foodgrains.

Question 28.
The following table shows the population and worker population ratio for India in 1999-2000. Can you estimate the workforce (rural and urban) for India? (NCERT)

Region	Estimates of Population (in crore)	Worker Population Ratio	Estimated Number of Workers (in crore)
Rural	71.88	41.9	71.88100x 41.9 = 30.12
Urban	28.52	33.7	?
Total	100.40	75.6	?

Answer:
Worker Population Ratio

Number of Workers = TotalPopulation100 × Worker population Ratio

Region	Estimates of Population (in crore)	Worker Population Ratio	Estimated Number of Workers (in crore)
Rural	71.88	41.9	71.88100x 41.9 = 30.12
Urban	28.52	33.7	28.52100x 33.7 = 9.61124
Total	100.40	75.6	100.40100x 75.6 = 75.9024

Question 29.
Why are regular salaried employees more in urban areas than in rural areas? (NCERT)
Answer:
Regular salaried employees are more in urban areas than in rural areas due to following reasons

Education and training Regular salaried employment requires certain educational qualifications and professional skills. Education and training facilities are not as good in rural areas as in urban areas. Therefore, chances of regular employment are higher for urban people.
Infrastructure Large companies including MNCs are concentrated in the urban areas due to the presence of economic infrastructure and availability of modern facilities like banks, transport, communication etc. These companies hire regular salaried employees, which results in concentration their in the urban areas.
Agriculture Rural population is primarily engaged in agricultural sector and are not willing to take the risk of leaving their farms for regular salaried employment. This is also a reason for regular salaried employment to be less prevalent in rural areas.

Question 30.
Why are less women found in regular salaried employment? (NCERT)
Answer:
Less women are found in regular salaried employment due to the following reasons:

Lack of education facilities Female education is not given due importance in India and hence, majority of the women in India do not have the educational qualification and professional skills required for regular salaried employment.
Discouragement from family In India, families still do not want the female members to step out from the house for work especially if it is for long hours, as in regular salaried employment.
Family responsibilities Household work and responsibility of children and other family members do not allow the women to devote time and energy in regular employment.
Wage discrimination Gender based wage discrimination is prevalent in India which demotivates the women in regular salaried employment and they prefer being at home or opt for self-employment opportunities.
Security issues Rise in crime against women has also been a reason of women withdrawing from regular employment due to security concerns. Late working hours in private sector firms and MNCs are not found suitable by most of the women.

Question 31.
Do you think that in the last 50 years, employment generated in the country is commensurate with the growth of GDP in India? How? (NCERT)
Answer:
No, I don’t think that in the last 50 years, employment generated in the country commensurates with the growth of GDP in India. In 2005, the growth rate in employment was 2.89 % while growth rate in GDP was 6.1 %. The difference between the growth rate of GDP and the growth rate of employment is indicative of the phenomenon of ‘jobless growth’.

Jobless growth is defined as a situation in which there is an overall acceleration in the growth rate of GDP in the economy which is not accompanied by an expansion in employment opportunities. This means that in an econoniy, without generating additional employment, we have been able to produce more goods and services. This is because of the use of capital intensive methods of production.

Question 32.
Name the form of unemployment where more people work than what is required.
Answer:
Disguised unemployment or hidden unemployment.

Question 33.
What is meant by cyclical unemployment?
Answer:
Cyclical unemployment means unemployment which arises as a result of different phases of trade cycle.

Question 34.
State two forms of rural unemployment in India.
Answer:

Seasonal unemployment
Disguised unemployment

Question 35.
Name the two forms of urban unemployment in India.
Answer:

Educated unemployment
Technological unemployment

Question 36.
What is meant by unemployment?
Answer:
Unemployment is a situation in which people who are capable and willing to work are not getting work.

Question 37.
Who are not considered to be a part of the workforce?
Answer:
Children below the age of 15 years and adults above the age of 60 years are not considered to be a part of the workforce.

Question 38.
In which age group, persons constitute the working population?
Answer:
Persons in the age group of 15-60 years constitute the working population.

Question 39.
Define unemployment according to NSSO.
Answer:
NSSO defines unemployment as a situation in which all those who owing to lack of work, are not working but seek work through employment exchanges, intermediaries, friends or relatives. They also seek work by making applications to prospective employers or express their willingness or availability for work under prevailing conditions of work and remunerations.

Question 40.
Sometimes people prefer to be voluntarily unemployed. Why?
Answer:
People prefer to be voluntarily unemployed for the below mentioned reasons

They do not want to work at the wages that are being offered.
They are not willing to migrate to the place at which job is being offered.
They think that the job offered is below their calibre.

Question 41.
Unemployment in India is considered to be a chronic problem. Why?
Answer:
Unemployment in India is considered to be a chronic problem because it has been a long term phenomenon. India is facing this problem ever since independence and has not yet been able to solve this problem. The absolute number of unemployed is increasing year by year. India has not been able to generate enough jobs due to lack of capital and low rate of growth in the industrial sector.

Question 42.
Do you think that unemployment is related to poverty?
Answer:
Yes, I think that unemployment is related to poverty. Poor people do not have enough resources for economic purpose. For example, a poor farmer cannot use the good variety of seeds and equipments. Due to poverty, they are not in a position to maintain efficiency and productivity. Poverty encourages farmers to mortgage their land to money lenders which in long-run, increases unemployment. Also, it is not possible for poor men to have proper education to improve their mental ability. Therefore, poor people are not able to get jobs and are unemployed.

Question 43.
Why is unemployment considered to be an economic as well as a social problem?
Answer:
Unemployment is both an economic and a social problem. Unemployment is an economic problem in the sense that unemployed persons will be consumers only without being a producer. Non-utilisation of human resources due to unemployment involves double cost of maintenance and loss of output. Unemployment is a social problem in the sense that it causes enormous sufferings to unemployed workers due to their reduced or nil income. Many social evils like dishonesty, immorality, drinking, gambling, robbery, etc are the outcome of unemployment. It causes social disruption in the society and the government has to incur a heavy unproductive expenditure on law and order.

Question 44.
Give the salient features of the unemployment situation in India.
Answer:
Following are some of the salient features of the unemployment situation in India

The incidence of unemployment is much higher in urban areas than in rural areas.
Unemployment rates for women are higher than those for men.
Under employment is higher in case of women.
Incidence of unemployment among the educated is much higher.

Question 45.
Explain role of government in generating employment opportunities.
Answer:
The government generates employment through direct and indirect efforts. The government makes direct efforts at employing people in various departments for administrative purposes. It runs various enterprises and when they result in increased output of goods and services, they lead to further increase in employment.

The various private enterprises that are linked to the government enterprises might also benefit from increased output of these enterprises and thus, increase their output and employment also. This way government also indirectly generates employment.

Question 46.
You are residing in a village. If you are asked to advise the village panchayat, what kinds of activities would you suggest for the improvement of your village which would also generate employment? NCERT
Answer:
I would suggest the following activities to generate employment in village:

There should be multiple cropping in the village.
Other activities related to agriculture such as plantation, horticulture, dairying, animal husbandry should be encouraged.
Cottage industry should be encouraged.
More and more facilities of education, health services roads etc should be created in the village.

Question 47.
Suggest the measures for increasing employment opportunities for women.
Answer:
I shall suggest the following measures to increase the employment opportunities for women:

Education and training opportunities for women should be further expanded, diversified and made more easily accessible.
Residential accommodation for working mothers should be increased.
There should be much more facilities of creches and child care during the working hours of mothers.
There should be large scale publicity and building of public opinion in favour of employment of women.

Question 48.
Briefly discuss the types of unemployment found in rural and urban areas of India.
Answer:
Unemployment is a situation under which those who are willing and capable to work, do not get work. Following are the types of unemployment found in rural and urban areas of India:

Open unemployment: It refers to that situation wherein the worker is willing to work and he has the necessary ability to work, yet he does not get work. He remains unemployed for full time.
Seasonal unemployment: It occurs in case of agriculture, ice-cream factories, woollen factories, etc which are a seasonal occupation. They have busy and slack seasons. In the off-season, there is no work. The result is seasonal unemployment.
Disguised unemployment: It is when marginal physical productivity of labour is zero or sometimes it becomes negative. An individual is working but he is unable to add to the productivity or to the output.
Industrial unemployment: It includes those illiterate persons who are willing to work in industries, mining, transport, trade and construction activities etc. Problem of unemployment in industrial sector has become acute because of increasing migration of rural people to urban industrial areas in search of employment.
Educated unemployment: In India, the problem of unemployment among the educated people is also quite grave. It is a problem spread across all parts of the country because of massive expansion in the education facilities. These facilities have contributed to the growth of educated persons who are on the look out for white collar jobs.
Technological unemployment: Technological upgradation is taking place in all spheres of activity. People who have not updated their skills as per the latest technology, become technologically unemployed.

Question 49.
What is meant by seasonal unemployment? What measures will you suggest for reducing this kind of unemployment in India?
Answer:
It refers to a situation where a number of persons are not able to find job in a particular season. It occurs in case of agriculture, ice-cream factories, woollen factories etc.
Following measures may be suggested to reduce seasonal unemployment

Promotion of multiple cropping, i.e. raising more than one crop on the same piece of land in a year.
Development of activities allied to agriculture such as animal husbandry, dairy farming, horticulture etc to provide extra employment throughout the year.
Public investment in rural areas in such fields as irrigation, drainage, flood control, land and environment, improvement of rural roads, schools, hospitals etc.
Promotion of on-farm investment. Overhaul of machinery, training of farm labour and programmes for eradication of illiteracy during slack seasons.
Mechanisation of peak season activities so that a proportion of the labour force is permanently shifted from agriculture to non-seasonal activities and surplus labour in the slack season is reduced.
Establishment of a variety of industries which operate at different times of the year so that labour may be kept employed almost throughout the year by shifting from one seasonal industry to another.

Question 50.
Briefly explain the various adverse effects of unemployment.
Answer:
The effects are explained below
(i) Economic effects: The various adverse effects belonging to this category are explained below

Loss of output: Unemployment is basically underutilisation of the human resources of the country leading to loss of output.
Loss of human resources: Unemployment is a situation in which the productive capacity of able and willing persons is wasted.
Low productivity: Unemployment increases the dependence on agriculture and this results in low productivity per labour employed.
Low rate of capital formation: Due to unemployment, the income levels are low, resulting in low rate of capital transformation.

(ii) Social effects: There effects are as follows

Rise in poverty: With increase in unemployment, the level of poverty in the country also rises.
Increase in inequalities: Unemployment generates inequality in the distribution of income and wealth, thus defying the objective of social justice.
Low standard of living: Unemployment affects the income of an individual adversely and leads to a fall in his standard of living.
Social unrest: An unemployed person creates social unrest by indulging in anti-social activities such as theft, kidnapping etc.
Results in depression: An unemployed person considers himself unwanted and useless, and suffers from depression.

Question 51.
Discuss the various causes of unemployment in India.
Answer:
The causes of unemployment in India are given below

Slow economic growth In Indian economy, the rate of economic growth is very slow. This slow growth rate fails to provide enough employment opportunities to the rising population.
Rapid growth of population Constant increase in population has been a grave problem of India. It is one of the main causes of unemployment.
Faulty employment planning The Five Year Plans in India have not been designed for employment generation.
Excessive use of foreign technology There is lack of scientific and technical research in India due to its high cost. This has resulted in excessive use of foreign techndlogy which has led to technical unemployment in our country.

Question 52.
How is unemployment different from underemployment? How is unemployment measured in India?
Answer:
Unemployment is a situation in which people are willing to work and capable to work, but still they are not getting work. Underemployment, on the other hand, is a situation in which an individual is working much below his potential. As per 27th round of NSSO, three types of estimates are available

Usual status unemployment: It is measured in number of persons who remained unemployed for a major part of the year.
Weekly status unemployment: It is measured in number of persons who did not find any work even for an hour during the week proceeding the survey week.
Daily status unemployment: Daily status unemployment is measured in terms of number of man days a person was not getting work on a day during the week proceeding the survey week.

Out of these three, the daily status unemployment concept is most appropriate because it takes into consideration both open and under employment. Unemployment Rate by Daily Status

Question 53.
Explain how unemployment problem can be solved in India?
Answer:
Following are the measures to solve the unemployment problem

The government should try to control the population, so that the number of new entrants to the workforce can be reduced.
The education system of India need to be reformed to address the problem of unemployment. The emphasis in education should shift from theory to practical.
Agricultural activities should be diversified into fisheries, cattle rearing, horticulture etc to generate income and employment opportunities.
The government should take necessary steps to develop cottage and small industries, both in the rural as well as urban areas. These industries are labour intensive and employ more labour, per unit of capital.