Review of Employment and Economic Well-Being in India: A Case for Urban Employment Guarantee

India is fast urbanizing, even conservative estimates projecting that over 50% of the country’s population will be urban by 2050. As India aspires to be a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and a $10 trillion economy by 2030, cities will be the engine of this economic growth. However, a significant proportion of urban population lives in poverty which is compounded by informality and vulnerability. A skewed structural transformation, resulting in a largely informal labour market, exacerbates the vulnerability within cities, further under stress with increasing migration from rural areas. This paper is therefore an attempt to highlight urban households’ perceived responses with regard to the economic situation, employment, incomes and earnings, and consequent spending patterns especially post-COVID using the Consumer Confidence Surveys released by the Reserve Bank of India. Majority of urban households experienced employment and economic losses and decreasing spending especially on non-essentials post-COVID. Data from Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011, coupled with recent Periodic Labour Force Surveys, also point towards the need to strengthen employment security in urban centres. Promoting Employment Security is fundamental in ensuring Inclusive Development and Economic well-being for the urban underprivileged thereby promoting inclusive urbanization. The paper therefore makes a case to have an Urban Employment Guarantee programme in India.