EMPLOYMENT fell marginally in 2020-21 due to the pandemic but gained momentum in 2021-22 with 7 per cent year-on-year growth in the manufacturing sector, according to the Annual Survey of Industries. “In fact, the estimated number of persons engaged in this (manufacturing) sector in 2021-22 has exceeded the pre-pandemic level (that is 2018-19) by more than 9.35 lakh,” a Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) statement said. At the same time, it added that average emoluments also registered an increase. Average salary earned per employee in this sector had gone up by 1.7 per cent in 2020-21 and 8.3 per cent in 2021-22, in comparison to respective previous years, it explained. “Due to the COVID pandemic, there had been a marginal fall in employment in 2020-21, which was more than compensated in the subsequent year i.e.

 

In 2021-22, with total estimated employment in the sector showing a robust growth of 7.0 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y),” it said. The number of persons engaged in industries dipped from 1,66,24,291 in 2019-20 to 1,60,89,700 in 2020-21, but increased to 1,72,15,350 in 2021-22, showed ASI. The MoSPI has released the results of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) for the reference periods April 2020 to March 2021 (i.e. The financial year 2020-21) referred to as ASI 2020-21 and for the reference period April 2021 to March 2022 (i.E. The financial year 2021-22) referred to as ASI 2021-22. The ASI results for the year 2021-22 exhibit the resilience shown by the Indian manufacturing sector and tell the unique turn-around story of the Indian manufacturing sector after the adverse effect of the pandemic witnessed in 2020-21 in terms of output and input contraction and also a marginal fall in employment, it stated.

 

The results show that while the Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by 8.8 per cent in current prices in 2020-21 over 2019-20, mainly on account of a sharp fall in input (4.1 per cent) that more than offset an output contraction (1.9 per cent) in the sector during a year affected by COVID, it added. The GVA has gone up significantly by 26.6 per cent in 2021-22 over 2020-21, riding on a high growth in the industrial output, which grew by more than 35 per cent in value terms during this period in current prices, it explained. The year 2021-22 witnessed a sharp rise in level as well as in the growth of the majority of the important economic parameters like invested capital, input, output, GVA, net income and net profit registered by the sector and even surpassed the pre-pandemic level in absolute value terms, showed ASI.