By Marchang Reimeingam, Khanrin, Sep-Nov 2004
Population, a means of any activity, is increasingly showing concern by both demographers and economists in the context of development. Its growth, as we all know, is affected by the vital events – birth, death and marriages – including migration. A factor such as religion, culture, social norms, etc. also influences the growth. For instance, practice of contraceptive is a taboo for some section of society, which induces in the growth. The level of development, for instance education or income particularly of females plays an important role in deciding a number of children. Therein parents would prefer quality than quantity as the rearing cost rises. In a sense reproduction would be of choice rather than of chance. However the number of children is also determined by the accessibility of medical and health care facilities, and mortality rates.
Illiterate and/or poor families have larger number of children due to their ignorance regarding contraceptive use as well as their affordability. They considered sex, available for free of cost, as one of the most luxury items. It resulted to the breeding of more children contributing in the population growth. More importantly, the growth of population is due to the decline in the death rate, which does not compensate by the fall in the birth rate. This growth may contribute as a supply of manpower but hazardous in the economy where many forms of unemployment is existed.
Education, one of the development indicators, is growing rapidly as human foresee its importance for the enhancement of production. In course of time education has developed in the envisaged direction. In comparison to the past experiences the growth of educational attainment is tremendous. Though there is a wide gap of educational attainments between the regional distributions, however the gap is significantly narrowing down between the genders. The narrowing down of the gap is mainly due to the increasing necessity, which is a contributing factor for the income generation, as the catering of future generation requires female’s contribution similar of male. But the system of education imparting in the society is far behind the practical consideration coupled with a little basis of training for work due to the lack of avenues for practices.
While the female’s contribution of work, when converted in terms of money, seemingly be significantly higher than males for their time devotion on work, provided knowledge and skill acquired and disposal are same to the male counterparts. Sectoral distribution of income would show that at present the earnings are significantly less of secondary and of tertiary sectors with comparison to the educational level. Females’ participation in secondary and tertiary sectors is significantly higher in urban area than in rural area as these sectors are mostly concentrated in urban area. Whereby the exodus of educated females of rural to urban is not uncommon. Further, many females after the accumulation of knowledge and skill lend up as a household workers. Thereby, there exist an inconsistency of females in the educational attainment and the level of skill workers. The bridging of the inconsistency gap requires the development as well as the inclination of economic responsibility by females. Economic responsibility, here I mean, is the income earning for the disposal for daily expenses, upbringing children, etc., which is presently catered largely by males. Female argues that the chances are not available, however opportunity is to be grasp by oneself, though they are willing to take up the job. This partially tells the domination by males in the society where one cannot out-rightly rejected with the prevailing evidences. However there was an anxiousness or discrimination of female employees in the male dominated work places.
The existence and survival depends solely on work irrespective of gender. Within the fast growing labour market due to the rapidly growing population, which exert imbalances between the supply of and demand for labour. Thereby produces unemployment as a by-product. However the type of unemployment prevailing in the economy depends upon the economic developmental and educational levels. The non-generation and non-availability of employment avenues rendered unemployment. The substitution of machinery to manual labour particularly unskilled raises it. In case of agricultural economy the increase in agricultural density raises disguised employment, underemployment, and unemployment. Further the inability to compromise the time and expenditure incurred in acquiring certain educational level with the low paid available jobs rendered an educated voluntarily unemployed. Moreover the persistence of traditional and conventional motives for educated to fetch a salaried job leaves/remains in the nut-shelled of unemployed class. But at present with the ever-increasing excess supply of labour including the unskilled the type of labour demands are more skilful with wide knowledge capable of handling various job by a single employee. It is also coupled with a low pay package because of the excess applicants for educated in particular. Whereby rendered unemployment at considerably high level. The existence of high level of educated unemployed is due to the inconsistency in the labour supply and the salary offer (or money supply). For instance an excess or short of labour supply results to a low or high salary offer. No doubt of high and attractive salary package offerings, although for handful compared to the prevalence of mass eligible. This exists in the situation of economic liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation which induces to a generations of contractualisation, casualisation and informalisation of labour.
The present employment scenario indicates that most of the private sector employers preferred female than male employees particularly in the retail shops, hotels, restaurants, etc. However the system is being disturb by the fact of employability duration (period/years). For instance most of the above mentioned employment areas absorbs young age groups. Moreover the salary package has dwindled due to the excess supply of labour. This is because of the employer’s awareness regarding the inability to afford the expensive leisure of being unemployed and the unlimited involuntarily unemployed which strengthen his bargaining power. Hence this unemployed chose to be unwanted disgrace prey.
Moreover the downsizing of employment in public sector dwindles employment in it. With an ever increasing competition amongst the producers the private sector is outsourcing the employment absorption. Which incites the organized job aspirants’ willingness to compromise certain aspects like competition in particular with the increasing qualified competitors. Within the organized sectors, particularly private, the contract system of employment is becoming too common. In this situation a stable job is likely rare. Therefore preparedness of any time unemployment seemingly becomes a criterion in entering job market.
At present in reality very insignificant ratio of job aspirants, especially the educated, are being appointed. Which incites the substitution of the concept of traditional salaried employment of the educated by entrepreneurship mode of earning with full utilization of acquired knowledge and skills. This would be in accordance with the existing socio-economic environment, preferably with sustainability. Otherwise very large section of the educated will enter into the unemployed world, particularly the youths, because of the too low or disproportionate ratio of job creation and the new labour market entrants.
And most importantly motives of job provider, by entrepreneurship with creativity, rather than job seeker must be enlarged. There is undoubtedly exists the barrier to initiate entrepreneurship because of the inadequacy if not lack of source(s). This barrier should not be a limiting factor for it because presently there are innumerable schemes or funds for credit in terms of loans, which can be easily repayable on instalment basis.
Therefore with the dwindling salaried job avenues and increasing contractual job in the situation of flooded by highly educated and qualified job seekers, the paradigm of job aspirants shifting towards self-employment is very much inevitable rather than voluntarily being unemployed. Also reduction of unemployment requires control of population growth; modify educational system; broadening of training for work; boost economic development, etc.
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For
citation: Marchang Reimeingam, Population Growth and Its
By-product, Khanrin, Delhi, Sep-Nov
2004.
