Identify, which of the following, highlights a highly relevant issue associated with evolving employment trends in India's labour market ?
Identify, which of the following, highlights a highly relevant issue associated with evolving employment trends in India's labour market ?
Options
Official answer
Correct option: (B) Increase in the proportion of casually employed individuals.
A major concern in India's evolving labour market is the rising share of casual and informal workers, who lack job security, regular wages, and social security benefits — this is widely recognised as a key adverse employment trend.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: correctly selects option B.
Hint
Think about which trend is a persistent PROBLEM, not an improvement, in India's labour market.
Quick oral answer
A key issue in India's labour market is the rising share of casually employed workers, who lack job security and social security benefits compared to regular salaried employees.
Common mistakes
- 1.Picking the 'positive-sounding' option (rise in formal/permanent jobs) without checking whether it matches the actual documented trend.
- 2.Confusing self-employment growth with quality employment growth, ignoring that much of it is disguised unemployment.
Analysis and explanation
Why B is correct
A persistent and well-documented issue in India's employment scenario is the growth of casualisation/informalisation of the workforce — workers increasingly engaged without formal contracts, job security, or social security benefits, even within otherwise growing sectors.
Why the distractors are wrong
- Option A (rise in permanent salaried employees) describes an improving, formalising trend, which contradicts the actual pattern of rising informal and casual work.
- Option C (self-employment expanding uniformly in all regions) overstates and misrepresents the trend; self-employment growth is uneven and often reflects disguised unemployment/underemployment rather than genuine opportunity.
- Option D (significant rise in formal sector jobs) is factually inconsistent with the trend of informalisation, where a large share of employment remains outside the formal sector even in registered establishments.
Interesting facts
According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), a large majority of India's workforce remains in informal employment, even within the organised sector, lacking written contracts or social security.
Casual labour is characterised by day-to-day or short-term engagement without any assurance of continued work, unlike regular salaried employment.
The Code on Social Security, 2020 was introduced partly to extend social security coverage to gig and platform workers, reflecting recognition of rising informal/casual work.
Question details
Q24 of 37 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Economics
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section B
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Employment: Growth, Informalisation and Other Issues
- Topic
- Informalisation of Workforce
- Bloom's level
- understand
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 7: Employment — Growth, Informalisation and Related Issues
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is casualisation of the workforce?
Casualisation refers to a rising share of workers being employed on a day-to-day or short-term basis without job security, formal contracts, or social security benefits.
Why is rising casual employment considered a problem?
Casual workers lack income security, social security benefits, and bargaining power, making them vulnerable to exploitation and income fluctuations, which is why this trend is flagged as a labour market concern.