Srinagar, Oct 20: Unskilled rural workers in Jammu and Kashmir earned an average daily wage of Rs 162 during the 2023–24 financial year, compared to Rs 554 in urban areas, highlighting a significant disparity in labour earnings across the Union Territory.
According to NITI Aayog’s latest report, titled ‘Reassessment of National Parameters for Appraisal of Public Investment Programmes/Projects in India’, rural unskilled workers earned less than one-third of the average daily wage of their urban counterparts, despite rural areas accounting for 81.01 per cent of J&K’s population, while urban areas account for 18.99 per cent.
The data also highlights differences in the Shadow Wage Rate Factor (SWRF), an indicator used to assess the social opportunity cost of employing labour in public development projects. The general SWRF stood at 0.36 in rural areas and 0.96 in urban areas, with the overall UT figure recorded at 0.47.
The figures indicate a substantial difference in the assessed economic cost of employing unskilled labour across rural and urban areas.
A different pattern emerges in the figures for female unskilled workers. Rural female workers recorded an average daily wage of Rs 343, compared to Rs 498 for their urban counterparts. The SWRF for female workers stood at 0.78 in rural areas and 0.96 in urban areas, with the overall figure at 0.81.
The rural female wage figure is higher than the general rural unskilled wage figure of Rs 162, while the urban female wage figure is lower than the general urban figure of Rs 554.
Pertinently, a lower factor can indicate that labour has a lower estimated opportunity cost in the relevant setting, potentially reflecting underemployment or surplus labour capacity.
The data points to the need to consider regional and gender-based differences in labour markets while assessing public infrastructure and development projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
