INTRODUCTION:- Occupational structure falls under the economic composition of the population. It deals with the distribution of population based on economic characteristics. The occupational structure is referred to the aggregating or clubbing of different economic activities. In simple terms, the percentage of the population is employed or engaged in any economic activities.
It also refers to articulating how many people are engaged in various economic sectors, for example, % of the population in agriculture, % of the population in industry, and so on.
Occupational structure discusses the nature of occupation in an area. It provides information about the percentage of the workforce available, which helps in various planning and development programs.
What are Economic Activities?
When we discuss the economic activities or occupation of an area, it is essential to know what is economic activity.
Economic activity is referred to the exchange of goods and services.
Some definitions of economic activity:-
➢ Exchanging of goods and services in lieu of goods and services.
➢consumption is known as economic activity.
➢ Economic activities are related to the selling and buying of commodities or any services.
➢ Any action that involves producing, distributing, and consuming products or services is an economic activity.
➢ Put simply; economic activities are those which we undertake to earn income, money, or wealth.
EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY? EXAMPLES OF NON-ECONOMIC ACTIVITY?
➢ Buying and of products and services like- (1) Exchanging of gifts
➢ Buying 1 kg rice exchange of Rs. 15/- (2) mother works at home
➢ Service Charge of a doctor. (3) Free medical treatment
(4) Teaching their own children
Determination of occupational structures:- Some basic factors determined the structure of the economy or occupation of any area. which are categorized into three groups - i)geographical –like availability of fertile soils, climate, and availability of mineral resources like coal, and iron, ii)Economic – economic status of the population like( purchasing power, per capita income, etc), development of technology iii) Socio-cultural educational status, and so on.
Importance of occupational structure: -
✓ It provides basic information about the structure of economic activities of the area.
✓ It helps to know the variety of works, like cultivation, fishing, manufacturing, etc.
✓ It provides information about the total workforce available in that area.
✓It helps to depict the economic conditions of people, what kind of activities are involved to generate income, or simply what is the way of earning money of an area.
✓ It helps to know whether the area is developed or developing or underdeveloped.
✓ The data provides by it is very useful in the planning and development of that area.
✓ Knowledge of the structure of the economy is very important in the economy as well as in demography for various governmental policies.
CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE:-
Based on economic characteristics population can be classified into two broad classes, which are –
❖ ACTIVE POPULATION or WORKERS
❖ NON-ACTIVE POPULATION or NON-WORKER
❖ ACTIVE POPULATION:- Active population is those who are economically active. It refers to the proportion of the total population who are engaged in economic activity. It also refers to the percentage of the population who can work. It is the manpower consisting of only those persons who could participate in economic gain full activities.
Active population indicates both employed and unemployed persons, because unemployed persons may have the ability to perform or earn income. For those who are employed their work duration is important to classify them. Based on work duration in a year active population can be classified into two sub-classes, which are –
➢ Main workers: those persons engaged in economic activities for a major part of the reference period, more than 6 months of a year, are known as main workers.
➢ Marginal workers: Those people employed less than 6 months of a year are known as marginal workers.
source:- Census of India
❖ NON-ACTIVE POPULATION:- Those persons who cannot work in any kind of economic activity. It refers to the proportion of the total population who are not involved in earning income and they are basically dependent on others for their live hood. These people are called as Dependent population and also known as the Gray population. Basically, the population of age between (0-15) and 60+ lies in this class. The age may be deferred from one country to another. It is measured by the dependency ratio. The dependency ratio is of two types. 1) Young Dependency Ratio: proportion of the dependent population of age between (0-15). The higher portion of the young dependency ratio. indicates the backwardness of the economy and the socio-cultural backwardness of the country.2) Old age dependency Ratio: It refers to the proportion of the population of the aged of 60 years & 60+. A higher old-age dependency ratio indicates higher life expectancy, good healthcare, good government policies for old age people & so on. (Dependency ratio is discussed later on in detail)
Work participation rate in selected states of India
Source: Census of India
The above table shows the distribution of work participation rates in some selected states of India. the data show that Himachal Pradesh (51.85% in 2011) has the highest work-face rate in 2001 & 2011 in India. The states like Sikkim, Nagaland, Assam, and Tamil Nadu record higher workforce rates in India. Whereas Bihar, UP, and Lakshadweep have records of lower workforce rates.
On the other hand, West Bengal (38.36% in 2011) has a record moderate workforce rate from 1991-2011 compared to others. The given data also depict that the workforce rate of most of the states are increasing since 1991.
Broad classification of occupation:-
Based on a variety of works, the occupational structure can be classified into three broad sectors, which are –
(1) Primary sector:- It is related to land, soil, climate, etc. It has a direct relationship with nature. The activities like cultivation, fishing, dairy, lumbering. The workers are known as red-collar workers. The share of this sector in employment is higher in developing countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & others than in developed countries like Canada.
(2) Secondary sectors:- It involves production, processing, manufacturing, etc. Industrial activities are known for this. The workers are known as Blue-collar workers.
(3) Tertiary sectors:- It involves various services like transport, communication, health, education & so on. This sector creates a link between primary and secondary sectors. The workers are known as pink-collar workers. Because of its variety of works, it is further divided into two sub-sectors. Which are -
SECTOR WISE WORKFORCE (%) IN INDIA
Distribution of workforce in selected countries of the world IN (%)
Industrial composition:- since there is a large variation in occupations & the number of occupations varies from country to country. Therefore occupation may classify into industrial categories. These are maintained in the following –
(1) Agriculture, forestry, fishing (6) Commerce
(2) Mining,& quarrying (7) Transport, communication
(3) Manufacturing industries (8) Services &
(4) Electricity, gas, water (9) Not classified
(5) Construction
▪ The census of India published its data about its workers into four main categories these are:
A. Cultivators
B. Agricultural laborers
C. Household industrial workers
D. Others workers
INDIA: Industrial composition, in 2001 Workforce in %
The above data shows that among the selected states of India Himachal Pradesh records the highest % of cultivators. Another hand it is the lowest in Delhi. Delhi records the highest in other works. In the case of household industry labor, West Bengal has a higher %( 7.4) which is higher than the national average. Delhi also records the lowest agricultural labor in India which indicates its development in industries, and tertiary sectors. Bihar has the highest % of agricultural laborers (48%). Household industrial workers are lowest in Bihar, Haryana Delhi, Punjab & Himachal Pradesh also, but their % is not so much deviated from the national average.
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