The quality of employment in India's services sector: exploring the heterogeneity

Abstract

For some observers, the dramatic growth of the services sector in India reflects rapid strides made by educated professionals. Some others see it as the expansion of an employer of last resort. Given this heterogeneity, the object of this article is to analyse the quality of employment being created in different sub-sectors of services, relative to the industrial sector, where quality is defined to include wages, job security and social protection. Analysing household survey data from India in 1993–94 and 2004–05, we find the following. First, sub-sectors of services are generally either 'good' or 'bad' employers – higher wages do not compensate for less job security or less job protection. Second, the classification of most service sub-sectors as 'good' or 'bad' employers in 2004–05 is the same as that in 1993–94. Third, employment expansion during the 10-year period under consideration is more in service sub-sectors where quality of employment is low.