Direct jobs created by Indian startups rose 36% in 2022

Even as Indian start-ups went on a layoff spree that started in 2022 and has continued well into the beginning of the current year, the number of direct jobs created by these new-age firms rose 36 per cent to around 2.7 lakh last year, according to the Economic Survey for 2022-23, tabled in Parliament.

About 48 per cent of the start-ups in the country come from tier II and tier III cities, the Survey said.

The number of start-ups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has increased from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 in 2022, which includes more than 1,000 start-ups in the agricultural technology space and over 500 working in millet value chains, it added.

The Survey also said that the rate of job creation by start-ups in 2022 was 64 per cent higher than the average of the previous three years. As per the latest report, in 2020, start-ups created around 1.6 lakh jobs; around 2 lakh jobs in 2021; and close to 2.7 lakh jobs in 2022, a year where start-ups are estimated to have collectively let go of more than 20,000 workers. The Survey also said that the rate of job creation by start-ups in 2022 was 64 per cent higher than the average of the previous three years.

Overall, labour markets and employment recovered beyond pre-Covid levels, and the increase in the women workforce and the decline in school dropouts will aid in socio-economic development, the Survey said.

According to a survey conducted by the Labour Bureau, manufacturing had 122.5 lakh employees, education came in second with 69 lakh, and IT/BPO employed 38.3 lakh people during January-March 2022.