Rural Non-farm Employment Scenario

Census 2001 recorded a substantial shift of rural workforce from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors during 1991-2001, in Punjab. Figures suggest that 60.6 per cent workers in Punjab are now engaged in non-agricultural activities and 46.5 per cent rural workers in Punjab have been absorbed by the non-farm sector. Such a transformation of rural economy of Punjab seems unprecedented in the face of low growth rate of employment in secondary and tertiary sectors during 1991-2001. This paper, based on an empirical study of three villages in three districts of Punjab, however, reveals the wide variations that exist with regard to the proportion of rural non-farm workers between census data and ground realities. According to this study, nearly 16 per cent of the rural workers in Punjab are engaged in the rural non-farm sector as compared to 46.5 per cent recorded by Census 2001.