Is Rural Non-farm Employment Distress Driven in Uttar Pradesh? Evidence from the NSSO rounds and PLF Survey

Abstract

Abstract Using National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) data, this study assessed the employment situation in Uttar Pradesh, with a focus on non-farm employment. The primary objective of our study is to investigate the potential causes of employment growth in non-farm activities over time. In Uttar Pradesh, we observed that a higher proportion of the casual workforce and stagnation of rural manufacturing activities, as well as a declining proportion of people who were self-employed and regularly employed, contributed to the casualization of the rural workforce. This suggests that the rural workforce was forced to shift from agricultural to non-farm activities as a result of distress. The key finding is that self-employment and regular employment outside agriculture seemed to be high-return activities, whereas casual employment outside agriculture was linked to low-return activities. Using a multinomial logit model, the study revealed that across all employment status categories, including agricultural labor, cultivators, non-farm regular employment, non-farm self-employment, and non-farm casual employment, the likelihood of working in high-paying non-farm regular and self-employment activities increases with better educational attainment, larger landholdings, and placement among the upper castes in social groups. JEL Code: J22, J24, J46