• According to the Indian Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate soared to 22.2 percent in October 2009. Companies are going out of business throughout the nation and layoffs are persistent....
• Economic reforms may have given a boost to industrial productivity and brought in foreign investment in capital intensive areas. But the boom has not created jobs. This was not unexpected. According to a report by the Washington-based Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), the combined sales of the world's top 200 MNCs is now greater than the combined GDP of all but the world's nine largest national economies. Yet, the total direct employment generated by these multinationals is a mere 18.8 millions -one-hundredth of one per cent of the global workforce.
• India's Ninth Five-Year Plan projects generation of 54 million new jobs during the Plan period (1997-2002). But performance has always fallen short of target in the past, and few believe that the current Plan will be able to meet its target.
• India's labour force is growing at a rate of 2.5 per cent annually, but employment is growing at only 2.3 per cent. Thus, the country is faced with the challenge of not only absorbing new entrants to the job market (estimated at seven million people every year), but also clearing the backlog.
• Sixty per cent of India's workforce is self-employed, many of whom remain very poor. Nearly 30 per cent are casual workers (i.e. they work only when they are able to get jobs and remain unpaid for the rest of the days). Only about 10 per cent are regular employees, of which two-fifths are employed by the public sector.
• More than 90 per cent of the labour force is employed in the "unorganised sector", i.e. sectors which don't provide with the social security and other benefits of employment in the "organised sector."
• In the rural areas, agricultural workers form the bulk of the unorganised sector. In urban India, contract and sub-contract as well as migratory agricultural labourers make up most of the unorganised labour force.
• Unorganised sector is made up of jobs in which the Minimum Wage Act is either not, or only marginally, implemented. The absence of unions in the unorganised sector does not provide any opportunity for collective bargaining.
• Over 70 per cent of the labour force in all sector combined (organised and unorganised) is either illiterate or educated below the primary level.
• The Ninth Plan projects a decline in the population growth rate to 1.59 per cent per annum by the end of the Ninth Plan, from over 2 per cent in the last three decades. However, it expects the growth rate of the labour force to reach a peak level of 2.54 per cent per annum over this period; the highest it has ever been and is ever likely to attain. This is because of the change in age structure, with the highest growth occurring in the 15-19 years age group in the Ninth Plan period.
• The addition to the labour force during the Plan period is estimated to be 53 millions on the "usual status" concept. The acceleration in the economy's growth rate to 7 per cent per annum, with special emphasis on the agriculture sector, is expected to help in creating 54 million work opportunities over the period. This would lead to a reduction in the open unemployment rate from 1.9 per cent in 1996-97 to 1.47 per cent in the Plan's terminal year, that is, by about a million persons - from 7.5 million to 6.63 million.
• In other words, if the economy maintains an annual growth of 7 per cent, it would be just sufficient to absorb the new additions to the labour force. If the economy could grow at around 8 per cent per annum during the Plan period, the incidence of open unemployment could be brought down by two million persons, thus attaining near full employment by the end of the Plan period, according to the Plan.
• However, there appears to be some confusion about the figure of open unemployment. The unemployment figure given in the executive summary of the Ninth Plan, gives the figure of open unemployment at 7.5 million while the annual report of the Labour Ministry, for 1995-96, puts the figure for 1995 at 18.7 million. An internal government paper prepared in 1997 put the unemployment figure at the beginning of the Eighth Plan at 17 millions and at 18.7 million at the end of 1994-95. Perhaps the Planning Commission referred to the current figure while the Labour Ministry figure referred to the accumulated unemployment backlog.
Yours Truly,
Jagan
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Finding a job is so hard Neither Man Nor Woman and Neither India nor America... But these days, so is just applying
Jasmin, 21, applied for a part-time administrative position with The New Teacher Project in Hyderabad, Over the summer. Within a day, she heard back. They thought she was qualified, so they were putting her to work.
"They assigned me a project and 48 hours to complete it," she said. "If I completed it successfully, they'd bring me in for an interview."
Jasmin answered mock e-mails from potential clients, which required research into the organization. Then she had to create a plan for an educational event. She outlined a two-week strategy for pulling it off; it took her half a day.
"I talked it over with my roommate," said Jasmin, now living in Hyderabad after graduating from the Osmania University, "How much time do I spend on this, rather than writing new cover
letters for other jobs?"
Before long, she had her answer: The effort she'd devoted to the assignments had definitely been too much.
The following Monday, The New Teacher Project informed her that it had eliminated the position because of budget cuts.
Jasmin’s experience highlights a new fact of life for those on the losing end of a labor market where every "help wanted" ad can draw a flood of interest, and fewer people wait on the other end to read all the resumes. More and more, recruiters and hiring managers are asking prospective employees to complete lengthy assignments before they will even be considered for an interview. While blue-chip companies such as Google and IBM have long asked applicants for executive positions to write essays and take personality tests, now the assignments are coming from smaller employers and are required for even entry-level positions. They're also coming earlier in the process, adding new hoops to jump through where a cover letter and resume once sufficed.
One industry watcher adds that one particular tactic, known in the human resources business as "soft questionnaires" -- as opposed to the more rigid tests companies give for high-level positions -- have become standard for the most junior jobs.
"A year ago, it didn't happen," said Joginder Kaur CEO of a job placement firm in Hyderabad. But personality tests, background checks, writing projects -- even credit checks -- "are all common now," she said. Kaur points to the example of a 17-point questionnaire she encountered, which asked applicants about their passions and weaknesses as well as to "describe for me your role model. How are you like him and how are you different?"
The addition of these new steps is designed to weed out all but the top applicants before interviews are scheduled. While job seekers say they can be a good opportunity to showcase skills beyond what a cover letter can communicate, they also grumble that it takes valuable time away from the hunt. Not that they have much choice.
"If an applicant wants a salary position," Kaur said, "they have to have the patience to do this. Because there's no one on the other side to go through all the applications."
Chaitanya, 22, said she has not applied for several jobs she is interested in and qualified for because of lengthy requirements. "Whenever I see, 'Write us an essay,' my assumption is it won't be worth my time," she said. "When I see that, it's a sign that hundreds of people are applying for the same job."
Chaitanya graduated in May from Hyderabad Central University in Gacchibowly with a dual major in environmental studies and political science. She estimates she has applied for about 250 jobs in the past year. But she stopped applying for government jobs altogether because of its arduous application process, which requires in-depth statements on an applicant's "KSA": knowledge, skills and abilities.
"The word on the street is that all you need to do is include the buzzwords that they're looking for," she said. "It's sort of a game." A maddening one, from where she sits: Chaitanya said she has never gotten a call for a government job, even administrative positions. "For me, it often feels like fighting a losing battle."
When that impression is sent, intentionally or not, the goal of employers is met. Screening exercises not only winnow out hopefuls with poor writing and critical thinking skills; they also cut down the pile of resumes, as those who might not wholeheartedly want the job take themselves out of consideration after deciding the initial application is too demanding.
Ratan Gupta, a headhunter based in Ameerpet, Hyderabad, said she noticed applicant homework becoming more popular as the recession hit the job market and candidates started sending out their resumes to a wider range of employers. Such steps let companies "separate the weak from the strong, and gauge how seriously people are considering the job," said Ratan, executive director of Talent Market, a recruiting company focused on nonprofits. But while she defends the new practice, she also feels there are limits to what employers can glean from it, since some questions don't lend themselves to the essay or questionnaire format. "I don't know how you ask
somebody, 'How do you manage people?'" she said.
Shwetha, who is looking for a communications job in Hitech City, recently was given the
password for a prospective employer's Web site and asked to critique its content and design. They wanted a proposal on how it could be improved, in writing. And, she was told, other candidates were getting the same assignment. "Part of me was thinking it was great for them to get a sense of how I think," Shwetha said. "But I also thought they were getting an awful lot of free advice." Shwetha said other companies have asked her to draft a marketing plan or, in one case, a personal statement on whether her beliefs were in line with the advocacy organization to which she was applying. (Like most applicants interviewed for this piece, Shwetha declined to
mention the names of the organizations she applied to, for fear of burning bridges.)
While it takes time away from freelance work and other job applications, Shwetha isn't complaining. "I think it's a good thing," she said of the writing. "It allows you as a job seeker to have more control over the interview process. It's not just arbitrary questions."
It all would have been time well spent, she added, if she had gotten the job.
So friends! once again, I Can say one sentence .Getting a Job is so hard…
Yours Truly,
Jagan
"They assigned me a project and 48 hours to complete it," she said. "If I completed it successfully, they'd bring me in for an interview."
Jasmin answered mock e-mails from potential clients, which required research into the organization. Then she had to create a plan for an educational event. She outlined a two-week strategy for pulling it off; it took her half a day.
"I talked it over with my roommate," said Jasmin, now living in Hyderabad after graduating from the Osmania University, "How much time do I spend on this, rather than writing new cover
letters for other jobs?"
Before long, she had her answer: The effort she'd devoted to the assignments had definitely been too much.
The following Monday, The New Teacher Project informed her that it had eliminated the position because of budget cuts.
Jasmin’s experience highlights a new fact of life for those on the losing end of a labor market where every "help wanted" ad can draw a flood of interest, and fewer people wait on the other end to read all the resumes. More and more, recruiters and hiring managers are asking prospective employees to complete lengthy assignments before they will even be considered for an interview. While blue-chip companies such as Google and IBM have long asked applicants for executive positions to write essays and take personality tests, now the assignments are coming from smaller employers and are required for even entry-level positions. They're also coming earlier in the process, adding new hoops to jump through where a cover letter and resume once sufficed.
One industry watcher adds that one particular tactic, known in the human resources business as "soft questionnaires" -- as opposed to the more rigid tests companies give for high-level positions -- have become standard for the most junior jobs.
"A year ago, it didn't happen," said Joginder Kaur CEO of a job placement firm in Hyderabad. But personality tests, background checks, writing projects -- even credit checks -- "are all common now," she said. Kaur points to the example of a 17-point questionnaire she encountered, which asked applicants about their passions and weaknesses as well as to "describe for me your role model. How are you like him and how are you different?"
The addition of these new steps is designed to weed out all but the top applicants before interviews are scheduled. While job seekers say they can be a good opportunity to showcase skills beyond what a cover letter can communicate, they also grumble that it takes valuable time away from the hunt. Not that they have much choice.
"If an applicant wants a salary position," Kaur said, "they have to have the patience to do this. Because there's no one on the other side to go through all the applications."
Chaitanya, 22, said she has not applied for several jobs she is interested in and qualified for because of lengthy requirements. "Whenever I see, 'Write us an essay,' my assumption is it won't be worth my time," she said. "When I see that, it's a sign that hundreds of people are applying for the same job."
Chaitanya graduated in May from Hyderabad Central University in Gacchibowly with a dual major in environmental studies and political science. She estimates she has applied for about 250 jobs in the past year. But she stopped applying for government jobs altogether because of its arduous application process, which requires in-depth statements on an applicant's "KSA": knowledge, skills and abilities.
"The word on the street is that all you need to do is include the buzzwords that they're looking for," she said. "It's sort of a game." A maddening one, from where she sits: Chaitanya said she has never gotten a call for a government job, even administrative positions. "For me, it often feels like fighting a losing battle."
When that impression is sent, intentionally or not, the goal of employers is met. Screening exercises not only winnow out hopefuls with poor writing and critical thinking skills; they also cut down the pile of resumes, as those who might not wholeheartedly want the job take themselves out of consideration after deciding the initial application is too demanding.
Ratan Gupta, a headhunter based in Ameerpet, Hyderabad, said she noticed applicant homework becoming more popular as the recession hit the job market and candidates started sending out their resumes to a wider range of employers. Such steps let companies "separate the weak from the strong, and gauge how seriously people are considering the job," said Ratan, executive director of Talent Market, a recruiting company focused on nonprofits. But while she defends the new practice, she also feels there are limits to what employers can glean from it, since some questions don't lend themselves to the essay or questionnaire format. "I don't know how you ask
somebody, 'How do you manage people?'" she said.
Shwetha, who is looking for a communications job in Hitech City, recently was given the
password for a prospective employer's Web site and asked to critique its content and design. They wanted a proposal on how it could be improved, in writing. And, she was told, other candidates were getting the same assignment. "Part of me was thinking it was great for them to get a sense of how I think," Shwetha said. "But I also thought they were getting an awful lot of free advice." Shwetha said other companies have asked her to draft a marketing plan or, in one case, a personal statement on whether her beliefs were in line with the advocacy organization to which she was applying. (Like most applicants interviewed for this piece, Shwetha declined to
mention the names of the organizations she applied to, for fear of burning bridges.)
While it takes time away from freelance work and other job applications, Shwetha isn't complaining. "I think it's a good thing," she said of the writing. "It allows you as a job seeker to have more control over the interview process. It's not just arbitrary questions."
It all would have been time well spent, she added, if she had gotten the job.
So friends! once again, I Can say one sentence .Getting a Job is so hard…
Yours Truly,
Jagan
Monday, February 8, 2010
Worth reading this......They all were looking at me on the bed.
This valuable nightmare, not related to your job search, But No wonder why I could not stop sharing with you.....
They all were looking at me on the bed.
I went back to my bedroom.
"Am I dead??"
I asked myself.
Where are my wife, my children, my mom-dad and friends?
I found them in the next room, all of them were crying... still trying to console each other.
My wife was crying... she was really looking sad.My little kid was not sure what happened, but he was crying just coz his mom was sad.
How can I go without telling my kid that I really love him, I really do care for him. ??
How can I go without telling my wife that she is really most beautiful and most caring wife in this world..??
How can I go without telling my parents that I m ... just because of you??
How can I go without telling my friends that without them perhaps I would have done most of the wrong things in my life... thanks for being there always when I need them... and sorry for not being there when they really need me..I can see a person standing in the corner and trying to hide his tears...
Ohh... he was once my best friend, but a small misunderstanding made us part, and we both have strong enough egos that kept us disconnected.
I went there.. And offered him my hand, "Dear friend...I just want to say sorry for everything, we r still best friends, please forgive me."No response from the other side, what the hell??
He is still preserving his ego, I am saying sorry... even then!!!
I really don't care for such people.But one sec.... it seems he is not able to see me!!!!
He did not see my extended hand.My goodness... AM I REALLY DEAD???
I just sat down near ME; I also wanted to cry.
"OHH ALMIGHTY!!!! PLEASE JUST GIVE ME FEW MORE DAYS..."
I just wasn't to make my wife, my parents; my friends realize how much I love them.
My wife entered in the room, she looks beautiful."YOU R BEAUTIFUL" I shouted.She didn't hear my words, in fact she never heard these words coz I never said this to her."GOD!!!!" I screamed... a little more time plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. .
I cried...One more chance please... to hug my child, to make my mom smile just once, to make my dad proud of me at least for a moment, to say sorry to my friends for everything I have not given them, and to thank them for still being in my life....
Then I looked up and cried!!!!I shouted...."GOD!!!! ONE MORE CHANCE PLEASE!!!!"
"You shouted in your sleep," said my wife as she gently woke me up.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
I was sleeping....Ohh that was just a dream....My wife was there... she can hear me...This is the happiest moment of my life...I hugged her and whispered... .. "U R THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND CARING WIFE IN THIS UNIVERSE.... I REALLY LOVE U DEAR"I can't understand the reason of the smile on her face with some tears in her eyes, still I m happy...."THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS SECOND? CHANCE."
"MORAL: We cannot start again with "love all "as like Tennis Match; it's our life match..SO, Now its not late.. lets forgot Egos, Past... and Xpress love to others... Be friendly... Keep smiling... for ever....
Yours
Jagan
They all were looking at me on the bed.
I went back to my bedroom.
"Am I dead??"
I asked myself.
Where are my wife, my children, my mom-dad and friends?
I found them in the next room, all of them were crying... still trying to console each other.
My wife was crying... she was really looking sad.My little kid was not sure what happened, but he was crying just coz his mom was sad.
How can I go without telling my kid that I really love him, I really do care for him. ??
How can I go without telling my wife that she is really most beautiful and most caring wife in this world..??
How can I go without telling my parents that I m ... just because of you??
How can I go without telling my friends that without them perhaps I would have done most of the wrong things in my life... thanks for being there always when I need them... and sorry for not being there when they really need me..I can see a person standing in the corner and trying to hide his tears...
Ohh... he was once my best friend, but a small misunderstanding made us part, and we both have strong enough egos that kept us disconnected.
I went there.. And offered him my hand, "Dear friend...I just want to say sorry for everything, we r still best friends, please forgive me."No response from the other side, what the hell??
He is still preserving his ego, I am saying sorry... even then!!!
I really don't care for such people.But one sec.... it seems he is not able to see me!!!!
He did not see my extended hand.My goodness... AM I REALLY DEAD???
I just sat down near ME; I also wanted to cry.
"OHH ALMIGHTY!!!! PLEASE JUST GIVE ME FEW MORE DAYS..."
I just wasn't to make my wife, my parents; my friends realize how much I love them.
My wife entered in the room, she looks beautiful."YOU R BEAUTIFUL" I shouted.She didn't hear my words, in fact she never heard these words coz I never said this to her."GOD!!!!" I screamed... a little more time plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. .
I cried...One more chance please... to hug my child, to make my mom smile just once, to make my dad proud of me at least for a moment, to say sorry to my friends for everything I have not given them, and to thank them for still being in my life....
Then I looked up and cried!!!!I shouted...."GOD!!!! ONE MORE CHANCE PLEASE!!!!"
"You shouted in your sleep," said my wife as she gently woke me up.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
I was sleeping....Ohh that was just a dream....My wife was there... she can hear me...This is the happiest moment of my life...I hugged her and whispered... .. "U R THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND CARING WIFE IN THIS UNIVERSE.... I REALLY LOVE U DEAR"I can't understand the reason of the smile on her face with some tears in her eyes, still I m happy...."THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS SECOND? CHANCE."
"MORAL: We cannot start again with "love all "as like Tennis Match; it's our life match..SO, Now its not late.. lets forgot Egos, Past... and Xpress love to others... Be friendly... Keep smiling... for ever....
Yours
Jagan
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