Unemployment in Haryana: Over 45,000 grads, post graduates apply for sweeper’s job

Unable to find jobs, around 46,102 graduates and post graduates in Haryana have applied for the jobs of contractual sweepers hired by Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN), the state-owned corporation established for providing contractual manpower.
As per the data pertaining to the applicants for the jobs of sweepers, more than 39,990 graduates and over 6,112 post graduates have applied for these unskilled menial jobs. The data (updated till September 2) shows that about 1,17,144 individuals having studied till Class 12 have also applied for the sweeper’s job. A total of 3.95 lakh individuals have applied for the job.
“A contractual sweeper hired by the government department, boards and corporations through the HKRN pool will get about ₹15,000 per month,’’ said an official.
Officials said that job description of the sweeper makes it abundantly clear about the task the selected applicants will have to undertake and there was little possibility that someone applied for the job mistakenly.
“Individuals applying for the contractual sweepers job on the HKRN website have to give an undertaking that while applying for the job activity of safai karamchari or sweeper they have carefully read the job description which is to clean, sweep and remove garbage from public areas, roads and buildings. They also have to give their consent that if selected they will be posted only in their home district,’’ said an official.
Desperation, financial distress drive youth to apply for menial jobs
Hindustan Times spoke to a number of graduates and post graduates who have applied for the sweeper’s job to know the circumstances which forced them to apply for such a menial job.
Sirsa resident, Rachana Devi, 29, a graduate in nursery teachers training and currently doing post-graduation in history from Rajasthan says she has been trying to get a meaningful job for the last four years. “There are no jobs. I am sitting idle at home. So, I applied for a sweeper’s job knowing fully well what it entailed,’’ she says.
A couple from Charkhi Dadri, Manisha, an auxillary nursing midwife (ANM) and her husband Danish Kumar, 31, a graduate with a Bachelor of Education degree say that they are willing to work as contractual sweepers because of their financial condition.
“We are unemployed. I have also applied for the jobs of computer operator and Haryana roadways bus conductor. I am more suited for a computer operator’s job as I have received formal computer training. As of now I earn a bit by filling up online forms of people on my laptop and get ₹50 per form,” Kumar says.
Sumit Sharma, 34, of Fatehabad, a post graduate in pharmacy who is pursuing masters in psychology from Indira Gandhi National Open University, has also applied for the sweeper’s job. “I lost money in business of medical goods and now work as a photo copier,’’ he says.
Rahul Dhenwal, 31, from Bahadurgarh who has done B.Ed and is pursuing masters in library science but is jobless said that it was out of sheer desperation that he has applied for sweeper’s job.
Ajeet Kaushik, 27, from Jind who has only studied till Class 12 and works as travel agent says that he is willing to be a safai karamchari as it would help him get married. “I am employed as a travel agent. But for marriage proposals to come, I need a government job,’’ he says.
BJP leader Praveen Attrey who is also the media secretary to chief minister Nayab Saini said that for the last 10 years the BJP government in the state has worked towards creating employment opportunities for the youth. “Our government has given 1.45 lakh regular government jobs. Besides, 37 lakh youth were provided self-employment and job opportunities in private sector. About 1.20 lakh persons were hired on contractual basis through HKRN. The government also ensured security of jobs for contractual employees by promulgating an ordinance,’’ Attrey said.
Central government report shows unemployment in Haryana on the rise
As per the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) conducted by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), the unemployment rate in urban areas of Haryana in 15-29 age group has increased to 11.2% in April to June, 2024 quarter as compared to 9.5% in the previous January to March quarter. The PLFS data showed that unemployment rate for women in 15-29 age group in urban areas increased to 17.2% in April-June quarter as compared to 13.9% in January-March period. The central ministry’s PLFS report says that unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. The estimates of unemployed in current weekly status give an average picture of unemployment in a short period of seven days during the survey period. According to the current weekly status approach, a person was considered as unemployed in a week if he or she did not work even for an hour on any day during the reference week but sought or was available for work at least for an hour on any day during the reference week.