Livelihoods: The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched two national surveys—All India Surveys on Migrant Workers (AISMW) and the All-India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES). While the former is aimed at tracking migrants, their socio-economic conditions, and job preferences, the latter is meant to gather data on job creation by companies.
These are two of the five all India-level surveys that the Labour Bureau, which is part of the ministry, is planning to conduct this year.
For the migrants’ survey, which is to be conducted over a period of six months, the labour ministry will look at a sample size of 300,000 households, whereas for the one on employment, it will assess 150,000 companies every quarter.
This is not the first time that an employer survey is being done. The earlier quarterly employment survey had a sample size of 2,500 companies. AQEES, however, will be significantly larger in size and scope and will cover firms employing 10 or more workers.
The results of both the surveys will generate useful data for effective policymaking in the field of labour and employment, said labour minister Santosh Gangwar while flagging off the fieldwork for the two surveys.
The surveys will expand the scope of jobs mapping as firms having 10 or more workers will provide a more realistic picture of job growth. It will also offer an insight into the problems faced by various sectors including micro, medium, and small enterprises (MSMEs) and the action required to solve them.
India witnessed a mass exodus of migrant workers from urban areas to their homes during the COVID-19 induced lockdown. The unavailability of reliable data has led to uncertainty on their numbers, current working and living conditions, among other things. While the government estimates nearly 10 million people went back home, experts and observers argue the real figure could be much higher.
Read this article on why it is important to understand migrants’ lives to address their needs