JALGAON

Historically, Jalgaon was an industrially backward district relying on agriculture as the main form of subsistence for a majority of the population. In 1951, approximately 60% of its population worked in agriculture. According to the Jalgaon District Gazetteer, of the approximately 40000 workers employed in industries, the largest group consisted of employees working in cotton and related industries, representing slightly more than 1/3rd of all industrial employees. Other notable industries in terms of employment included the metal and chemical industries, handlooms, and carpentry. Over time, industrialisation has meant that while Jalgaon’s labour force is still more rural than urban, a large number of factories and industries across sectors have sprung up, significantly diversifying the workforce and occupations of people.

In Jalgaon, 76% of the total workers are rural workers. Main workers are the predominant category of workers, accounting for approximately 85% of rural and urban workers. The second highest category of workers are marginal workers working for 3 to 6 months, with an approximately 10% share in both rural and urban areas. While there are more than thrice as many rural workers as urban workers, the distribution of workers is quite similar for both sectors, with more workers in permanent or longer-term employment.

According to the Sixth Economic Census, in 2013, there were slightly more persons employed in urban areas (51%) than in rural areas. Jalgaon was the taluka with the highest number of persons employed, with one out of every four workers in the district being from this taluka. Chalisgaon was the second-highest taluka, with slightly more than a one-tenth share of all persons employed. On the contrary, Bhadgaon and unknown subdistricts have the least share of total persons employed at just 2.5% and just 0.07%, respectively. Across the district, nearly 20% more females are employed than males, with the highest proportion of female employees being in Bhadgaon and Chalisgaon, where female employees account for more than 2/3rds of all employees. Chopda is the only taluka that has more male employees (54%) than female employees (46%).

Across sectors, more persons were employed in firms with residential cum commercial structure than in firms with a commercial structure. While in rural areas the gap was smaller - firms with a residential cum commercial structure have 10% more persons employed - in urban areas the gap is significant, with nearly 3/4ths persons employed in firms with residential cum commercial structure.

Private proprietary establishments had the highest number of persons employed, with three in every four workers in the district working in this type of firm. Government/public service undertakings form the next highest category of persons employed, with an approximately 10% share of total employees. Here, too, the distribution is quite even across rural and urban areas. Private self-help groups have the fewest persons employed in the district, accounting for a minuscule 0.05% of total employees.

Retail trade and manufacturing were the sectors with the highest number of persons employed, accounting for approximately 24% and 16% of total persons employed in the district. While the distribution of workers by sector is fairly even across rural and urban areas, a significant proportion (nearly 18%) of persons employed in rural areas were working in livestock compared to slightly more than 1% in urban areas. Forestry, mining, real estate activities, and water supply and waste management were the sectors with the least number of persons employed, each accounting for less than 2 out of every 1000 persons employed in the district.

Most households (approximately 92%) that were allotted work under MGNREGA did work under the Act. Overall, in 2020, there were slightly more than twice as many households in both categories when compared to 2011. While this represents steady growth, the number of households across both categories peaked in 2017 and has fallen by approximately 20% since then. The data is very similar for persons who worked under MGNREGA, with 2020 values being 2.2 times higher than 2011 values. Similarly, the number of persons who have worked under MGNREGA peaked in 2017 and has also fallen by approximately 20% since then.

Of the nearly 8,50,000 persons that were allotted work, slightly more than 90% did work under the Act. The proportion of people who worked to the people who were allotted work under MGNREGA has fallen by approximately 9% from 99% to 90% since 2012. The largest increase in people from both categories (73% and 56% respectively) was between 2015 and 2016, with values peaking in 2017 and then similarly falling by 24% and 23% respectively. In 2020, there were nearly two and a half times more people allotted work and 2.2 times more people who worked than their 2011.

Between 2011 and 2020, women accounted for one-third of total person days in the district. In this time period, the proportion of person days worked by women to total person days has seen growth. While in 2011, approximately 22% of total person days were worked by women, that will increase to nearly 35% in 2020. Overall, while the growth rates for each category have been similar for most years, the number of person days worked by women grew approximately 2.2 times more than the total person days.

Between 2011 and 2020, a significantly higher number of people started using or switched to bank accounts compared to post office accounts. This can be seen clearly as bank accounts accounted for less than 2% of total accounts in 2011, while in 2020, they made up nearly three-quarters of all accounts. This exponential increase means that while the number of post office accounts grew by approximately 26% between 2011 and 2020, the number of bank accounts grew by an astounding 18500%. The number of job cards issued under MGNREGA grew each year between 2011 and 2020, at an average growth rate of approximately 5%. Overall, slightly more than one and a half times more job cards were issued in 2020 compared to 2011.

The total number of factory workers decreased marginally (~0.3%) between 2011 and 2020, while the number of female factory workers increased by approximately 12%. Overall, factories are dominated by male workers, with female workers accounting for slightly more than 5% of total factory workers. Factories manufacturing electric batteries and rubber products had the highest proportion (approximately 25%) of female workers to total workers; the largest number of female workers were in factories for agricultural activities and factories processing and storing fruits and vegetables, accounting for approximately 23% of all female workers. In 2015, 13 types of factories employed zero female workers, including factories related to tobacco products, alcohol, mining, wires, and animal food, among others. Factories manufacturing plastic products and related to the transmission and distribution of electricity had the highest number of workers in 2015, representing one out of every 4 and one out of every 8 workers in the district, respectively. Contrastingly, factories manufacturing plastic products also had some of the lowest ratios of female workers, with less than 1% of workers in plastic factories being female.

Between 2012 and 2020, the number of government employees and the number of private employees grew by approximately 37% and 65% respectively. At the same time, the number of semi-government employees decreased by slightly more than half. While the proportion of government employees to total employees stayed relatively the same between 2012 and 2020, the proportion of private employees grew by approximately 10% and the proportion of semi-government employees decreased by approximately 12%.

Construction saw the highest growth in the number of government employees (15x); while finance, insurance, real estate and trade services saw the highest growth in the number of semi-government employees (9x); and electricity generation, gas, water and sewerage services saw the highest growth in the number of private employees (26x).

In 2020, the highest proportion of employees in each category was working in finance, insurance, real estate, and trade services, with two out of every five employees in the district working in this category. On the other hand, construction had the lowest number of employees in the district, representing slightly over 1% of total employees.

In 2020, of the five broad categories of cooperatives, the highest numbers were social service cooperatives (28%) and production cooperative societies (27%). Marketing cooperatives formed the smallest share, with just over 4% of cooperative societies being from this category.

The total number of cooperatives peaked in 2016 before decreasing by nearly 42% by 2020. The overall number of cooperatives has declined by one-fourth since 2011, with the highest decline (43%) occurring in the category of social service cooperatives. Overall, between 2011 and 2020, most categories had relatively stable shares of total cooperatives, except social service cooperatives and agricultural credit societies.

The share of social service cooperatives decreased from nearly 37% of total cooperatives in 2011 to 28%, while agricultural services increased their share by approximately 5%, increasing from 16% of total cooperatives in 2011 to 21% in 2020. In 2020, primary agricultural cooperatives formed the highest subcategory, with approximately 21% of total cooperatives, followed by dairy business organisations at nearly 18%. On the other hand, farmers' service organisations, grain banks, other agricultural credit institutions, special purpose cooperatives, and other marketing cooperatives had 0 cooperatives each in 2020.

Between 2018 and 2020, both the number of employed families and employed persons under MREGS decreased by approximately 11%. In this period, Bodwad experienced the highest increases in each category (approximately 50%) while Yawal saw the highest decreases in each category (33% and 37% respectively). In 2020, Chalisgaon and Parola had the highest and second-highest shares in each category, while Bhusawal had the lowest shares in each category. In terms of gender and social category, each category saw a reduction in the percentage of people employed: the percentage of women employed fell by 41% while the percentage of SCs and STs employed decreased by 8% and 1% respectively.

While there are 1.75 times more male workers than female workers, there is a far higher proportion of male workers in urban areas than in rural areas. Male workers form nearly 80% of the total workforce in urban areas, significantly higher than their approximately 59% share in the rural workforce. A primary cause for this could be more women working marginal jobs, predominantly in agriculture and allied activities. The data support this, with female workers forming nearly 58% of rural marginal workers. The non-working population also has quite an even distribution across rural and urban areas. In both sectors, women form a higher proportion of total non-workers, while more men are seeking/available for work than women. Rural non-workers are also higher than their urban counterparts, forming almost 2/3rds of total non-workers. Overall, 57% of total non-workers are female, with a potential cause being a large proportion of women being homemakers and, as a result, out of the workforce.

In Jalgaon, Maharashtra, several labour unions are registered under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, primarily in the cotton textile industry. Three prominent unions are: Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh in Amalner, Chalisgaon Girni Kamgar Union in Chalisgaon, and Rashtriya Girni Kamgar Sangh in Jalgaon. Additionally, there are unions in the silk textile and banking industries. 

The Government College of Engineering was established in 1996. The institute is affiliated with the Kavyitri Bahinabai North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon. The institute offers undergraduate programs in Instrumentation, Mechanical, Electronics & Telecommunication, Computer, Electrical, and Civil  Engineering, and postgraduate programs in Electronics & Telecommunication, Heat Power, Mechanical, Electrical Instrumentation and Control Engineering, and Ph.D. programs in Instrumentation, Mechanical, Electronics & Telecommunication, Electrical, and Civil Engineering.