Bhubaneswar: Job opportunity seems to have dried up in Odisha if the last figures presented in the State Assembly are any indication.
Statistics reveal that both the state government, the largest job generator in Odisha, and the private sector have failed to address the rising unemployment in the State.
Employment provided:
The state government in 2018 provided placements to only 1,023 job hunters when candidates who have registered in employment exchanges stood at a whopping 9.37 lakh. Bhubaneswar registered the highest number of 98,000 job seekers. It was followed by Cuttack and Sambalpur.
Though the state government remained the top source of employment, vacancies notified came down from a high of 6,000 in 2009 to 1,674 in 2018.
Placements given in the last 11 years stood at only 23,000.
How did the private sector fare:
All that they could provide was only 1,036 and that too between a period of 2009-19.
What could be the reason for the slump?
According to the Economic Survey 2018, private establishments in Odisha grew by only 2 per cent annually between 2005 and 2013 as against 8 per cent in case of Gujarat, explaining the dwindling job opportunities.
Even in neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand, the private sector units grew by 4-5 per cent.
