Textiles, apparel, and hospitality are poised for significant job growth by 2030, fueled by increased investment, a new report reveals. While manufacturing and services will also contribute, the focus is on boosting stable, salaried positions. The think tank urges a strategic approach, emphasizing skill development and addressing the informal sector’s dominance to enhance labor absorption and drive economic expansion.
NEW DELHI: Textiles, apparel and hospitality could generate the strongest job growth by 2030, driven by higher investment in these sectors, according to a new report by economic policy think tank NCAER, which also called for measures to remove bottlenecks for faster expansion.Moderate growth in manufacturing and services output could raise jobs in textiles, garments and related industries by 53%, and employment in trade, hotels and similar services by 79% by 2030. While the economy displayed robust expansion in recent times, the report stated job quality did not keep pace as most employment gains came from self-employment (largely in agriculture) rather than from stable, salaried work.”India’s employment strategy must go beyond setting aggregrate growth target to attaining calibrated mix of demand side and supply side measures that directly incentivise labour absorption,” it said.On the supply side, it called for skill development through strengthened vocational programmes, credit portability to allow students to move across institutions, deeper industry partnerships and more investment in training quality.It stated India’s labour force participation rate of about 50% was low compared to other nations with the same income level, and a major challenge for growth was dominance of the informal sector.
