Govt portal to compete with job websites amid rising unemployment
The government-run National Career Service (NCS) portal plans to onboard private sector companies offering jobs in India and overseas, two people aware of the matter said, setting the stage for competing with private job portals such as naukri.com amid mounting joblessness.
Taking a leaf out of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the jobs portal run by the ministry of labour and employment plans to leverage the credibility of a government entity to connect employers and job seekers.
According to the India Employment Report 2024 jointly published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD), India’s youth continue to face high unemployment rates, with nearly 83% of the jobless population belonging to this demographic.
The report underscores a concerning trend where the proportion of educated young people with at least secondary education among the total unemployed youth has nearly doubled from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022.
The NCS portal saw over 10 million jobs posted till March, with the number of job providers going up to 2.6 million. The portal has an extensive user base of over 40 million registered job seekers from every corner of the country and every section of society.
On a monthly basis, the portal hosted around one million active job vacancies, reflecting a diverse array of opportunities spanning sectors such as finance and insurance, operation and support, construction, manufacturing, IT and communication, health, and education, the first person said.
Vacancies on NCS in finance, insurance, construction, manufacturing, transportation, storage and supply chain, have grown as much as 214% in FY24 compared with the last fiscal.
“It is a fact that unemployment has increased. However, data from the National Career Service (NCS) indicates a significant rise in job opportunities, mainly in the unorganized sector,” the first person said, adding that the department is planning to collaborate with international job providers and premium sector employers to enhance opportunities for Indian jobseekers.
Queries sent to the spokesperson of the labour and employment ministry and Naukri.com CEO Hitesh Oberoi remained unanswered till press time.
“The prime objective of NCS is to revolutionize the national employment service by providing a wide range of employment-related services, including job matching, career counselling and employability enhancement facilities, all conveniently accessible online,” the second person said.
The NCS project operates as a standout initiative focused on bridging the gap between employers and job seekers, this person said.
Based on the ministry data analyzed by Mint, there was a surge of 135% in vacancies in the financial sector, increasing to 4.7 million from 2 million from FY23 to FY24.