M PRA

Munich Personal RePEc Archive

Role of Unorganized Manufacturing in

Expanding Employment Opportunities in
Assam

Saikia, Dilip and Das, Kalyani Kangkana

Department of Commerce, Darrang College, Tezpur (Assam),
Department of Economics, Darrang College, Tezpur (Assam)

September 2012

Online at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/41861/
MPRA Paper No. 41861, posted 11. October 2012 / 16:33

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 Role of Unorganized Manufacturing in Expanding Employment
Opportunities in Assam

Dilip Saikia
Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce
Darrang College, Tezpur (Assam)
E-mail: dilip.gu@gmail.com

Kalyani Kangkana Das

Lecturer, Department of Economics
Darrang College, Tezpur (Assam)
E-mail: kalyanidas23@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The unorganized sector plays important role in creating gainful employment opportunities,
especially in developing countries, which are, in general, labour abundant. The Eleventh
Five Year Plan has emphasized that the unorganized manufacturing sector holds the promise
of vast employment creation, and thus, could be a panacea to the burgeoning labour force in
India. In this light the present paper analyzes the structure and growth of employment in the
unorganized manufacturing sector in Assam. Our main concern is to address the employment
potentiality of the sector in the State. We have discussed the issue in the light of different
technology parameters such as capital intensity and factor productivity, etc. The analysis has
been carried out separately for different enterprise types to get a clear picture about the
specific sectors and sub-sectors. The findings suggest that the unorganized manufacturing
sector of Assam has witnessed sharp decline during 1994-95 to 2000-01, especially in terms
of number of units and employment, but the sector has experienced significant rise in recent
years (during 2000-01 to 2005-06). However, this improvement is at the cost of quality of
employment, since the number of full-time workers has sharply declined and there has been
increase in part-time workers only.

Key words: Unorganized manufacturing, employment creation.

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1. Introduction
Creation of gainful employment has been one of the major challenges for the policymakers in
India, especially in the post-reforms period. This is partly because the employment situation
during this period has not been encouraging and the organized manufacturing sector has
failed to generate employment opportunities (Rani and Unni, 2004, Sahu, 2007). Contrarily,
the unorganized manufacturing sector has witnessed remarkable rise in both the number of
units and workers during the post-reforms period (Sahu, 2007). The unorganized
manufacturing sector of India is huge and quite diversified, including a wide range of
manufacturing units, dispersed all over the country both in rural and urban areas. The
unorganized manufacturing sector is largely labour intensive, and thus, holds the promise for
generation of vast employment opportunities, especially in developing countries like India,
which are labour abundant. Recognizing the role of the unorganized sector, the 11th Five Year
Plan has emphasised the sector as the most potential sector for rapid employment generation,
and thus, a panacea to the burgeoning labour force in the country.

The industrial scenario of Assam, which is one of the industrially backward States in India, 1
is largely confined to the unorganized manufacturing sector. The Unorganized manufacturing
sector with about 370.8 thousand units, which is more than 99.5 percent of total
manufacturing units, accommodated about 632.5 thousand workers, which is more than 83
percent of manufacturing workers in Assam during 2005-06. In spite of the crucial role
played by the sector in industrialization process in the State and employment generation and
achieving other socio-economic objectives as well, the sector has not received due attention
in the policy sphere and research community in the State. While for the India as a whole
studies have shown that the unorganized manufacturing sector has witnessed sharp decline in
number of units and employment during mid-1980s to mid-1990s and the period since mid-
1990s has experienced significant rise of the sector in terms of both number of units and
employment (Rani and Unni, 2005; Sahu, 2007), the performance of the sector in Assam is
not discussed yet. In this paper we have made an attempt to fill this void in the literature by
analyzing the structure and growth of unorganized manufacturing sector in Assam. The
specific objective of the paper is to discuss the employment potential of the unorganized
manufacturing sector by examining the structure and growth of the sector in terms of

1
As per the Economic Survey, Assam 2011-12, the manufacturing sector contributed only about 7.0 percent to
Gross State Domestic Product in Assam during 2010-11 and during the same year the growth of the sector
registered at 3.8 percent at constant (2004 -05) prices and 9.0 percent at current prices.

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different indicators such as number of units, number of workers and gross value added, as
well as different technology indicators such as capital intensity, labour productivity and ratio
of gross value added to capital. The analysis has been carried out for the overall unorganised
manufacturing sector as well as for different enterprise types within the sector: OAMEs,
NDMEs and DMEs.2

The rest of paper is organized in the following sections. Section 2 briefly outlines the
database used in the study. Section 3 discusses the importance of unorganized manufacturing
sector in Assam. Section 4 analyzes the structure of unorganized manufacturing sector. In
section 5 we have examined the growth performance of the unorganized manufacturing sector
in the States. Section 6 analyzes different technology indicators of the unorganized
manufacturing sector. Finally, section 7 concludes.

2. Data Sources
The present study is based on National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data on
unorganized manufacturing sector, for three points of time, viz. 51st round (July 1994‐June
1995), 56th round (July 2000‐June 2001) and 62nd round (July 2005‐June 2006). These
surveys cover all the units of unregistered manufacturing sector and provide a large variety of
estimates for the entire unregistered manufacturing sector. 3 However, these rounds differ
from each other in terms of industrial classification and coverage, which leads to a few
conceptual and methodological inconsistencies in different rounds of data. For instance, the
51st round, 56th round and 62nd round data are based on the National Industrial Classification
(NIC) of 1987, 1998 and 2004 respectively. Therefore, required adjustments to the industry
groups under the NIC 1987 and NIC 1998 have been made, to make the industry groups
comparable with the industry groups under NIC 2004. Secondly, some industrial categories
such as „repair services‟ and/or „repair of capital services‟ are included in the 51st round, but
excluded in the 56th and 62nd rounds; and some industrial categories such as cotton ginning,

2
In India, the unorganized manufacturing sector is subdivided into three sub-sectors- own account
manufacturing enterprises (OAMEs), non-directory manufacturing establishments (NDMEs) and directory
manufacturing establishments (DME). OAMEs are enterprises run without a hired worker on a fairly regular
basis. NDMEs are establishments employing up to six workers, at least one of them being a hired worker
employed on a fairly regular basis. DMEs are establishments employing six or more (but less than ten) workers,
at least one of them being a hired worker.
3
In the NSS framework, the unregistered (or unorganised) manufacturing sector covers all the manufacturing
enterprises that are not covered by Annual Survey of Industries. Per se, the sector includes all the manufacturing
enterprises except (a) those registered under section 2m(i) and 2m(ii) of Factories Act, 1948 and Bidi and Cigar
Workers (conditions of employment) Act, 1966 and (b) those run by Government (Central Government, State
Governments, Local Bodies)/Public Sector Enterprises.

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cleaning and baling, and recycling are included in the 56th and 62nd rounds, but excluded in
the 51st round. These industrial categories have been excluded from the analysis in order to
make valid comparison among all the three NSS rounds.

3. Importance of Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

The size of unorganized manufacturing sector is huge both in terms of number of units and
workers in Assam. As we can see from Table 1 that during 2005-06 more than 99.5 percent
of manufacturing enterprises were in the unorganised segment in Assam. The dominance of
the sector has remained since 1994-95. The predominance of the unorganized segment is true
in respect of employment as well. In 1994-95 the segment accommodated about 83.3 percent
of the workers engaged in manufacturing, which declined 81.6 percent in 2000-01 and then
increased to 83.1 percent in 2005-06. In other words, the organized sector accounted for only
0.50 percent of manufacturing units during 1994-95 to 2005-06 and about 16.7 percent of
manufacturing employment in 1994-95, 18.4 percent in 2000-01; and 16.9 percent in 2005-
06. However, the unorganized sector‟s contribution to manufacturing gross value added was
only 26.17 percent in 1994-95, which increased to 33.8 percent in 2000-01 and then declined
to 24.9 percent in 2005-06. Thus, it is clear that the unorganized manufacturing sector
approximately sums up the total manufacturing sector of Assam, especially from the view
point of number of units.

Table 1: Structure of Manufacturing Sector in Assam: 1994-95 to 2005-06

1994–95 2000–01 2005-06
% share % share % share
No. of Units
Organized 1514 0.49 1435 0.51 1864 0.50
Unorganized 307200 99.51 278449 99.49 370781 99.50
Total 308714 100.00 279884 100.00 372645 100.00
No. of Workers
Organized 124885 16.70 112542 18.41 128662 16.90
Unorganized 622814 83.30 498800 81.59 632481 83.10
Total 747699 100.00 611342 100.00 761143 100.00
Gross Value Added (Rs. Lakhs)*
Organized 114535 73.83 160468 66.24 410918 75.11
Unorganized 40592 26.17 81781 33.76 136169 24.89
Total 155127 100.00 242249 100.00 547087 100.00
Note: * Values are at Current Prices.

4. Structure of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

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The composition and structural changes in unorganized manufacturing sector of Assam
during 1994-95 to 2005-06 is shown in Table 2 in terms of three indicators, namely, number
of units, number of workers and gross value added, separately for different enterprises types.
Is it obvious from the Table that a very large proportion of Assam‟s unorganized
manufacturing sector has been continued to be constituted by the own account manufacturing
enterprises (OAMEs), which are the tiniest self-employing enterprises. The dominance of the
OAMEs segment is true in respect of each of the three indicators. For example, in 2005-06,
88.5 percent of the units, 74.6 percent of workers and 55 percent of gross value added in the
manufacturing sector are concentrated in the OAMEs segment. On the other hand, these
percentages are only of 10.3 percent, 18.1 percent and 31.1 percent respectively for NDMEs
and 1.2 percent, 7.3 percent and 13.8 percent respectively for DMEs.

Table 2: Structure of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

Year Enterprises No. of Units No. of Workers Gross Value Added*
Types in ’000 % share in ’000 % share Rs. Lakh % share
OAME 262.9 85.6 489.5 78.6 21526 58.8
NDME 42.0 13.7 116.3 18.7 12472 34.1
1994-95
DME 2.2 0.7 17.0 2.7 2586 7.1
All Manufacturing 307.1 100.0 622.8 100.0 36583 100.0
OAME 247.4 88.9 392.5 78.7 26197 59.6
NDME 28.2 10.1 81.1 16.3 10927 24.9
2000-01
DME 2.8 1.0 25.2 5.1 6813 15.5
All Manufacturing 278.4 100.0 498.8 100.0 43937 100.0
OAME 328.1 88.5 472.1 74.6 35619 55.0
NDME 38.2 10.3 114.4 18.1 20132 31.1
2005-06
DME 4.4 1.2 45.9 7.3 8959 13.8
All Manufacturing 370.8 100.0 632.5 100.0 64712 100.0
Note: * Values are at Constant (1993-94) Prices.
Source: NSSO (1998a, 1998b, 2002a, 2002b, 2002c, 2002d, 2008a and 2008b).

We can identify some changes that have been taken place in the structure of the unorganized
manufacturing sector of Assam between 1994-95 and 2005-06. In terms of number of units
the share of OAMEs remained unchanged throughout, the share of NDMEs has marginally
declined, which has gained by the DMEs. In terms of number of workers the share of
OAMEs remained same during 1994-95 to 2000-01 and then declined marginally during
2000-01 to 2005-06, whereas the share of NDMEs declined during 1994-95 to 2000-01 and
then increased during 2000-01 to 2005-06, and that of DMEs has significantly increased
throughout the period. In terms of gross value added the share of OAMEs has marginally
increased during 1994-95 to 2000-01 and then declined during 2000-01 to 2005-06, while

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that of NDMEs has declined during 1994-95 to 2000-01 and then increased during 2000-01 to
2005-06 and DMEs has increased during 1994-95 to 2005-06.

Thus, it is clear that Assam‟s unorganized manufacturing sector has been dominated by the
OAMEs, which are the tiniest enterprises, especially in terms of number of units and workers.
On the other hand, the presence of NDMEs and DMEs, which are regarded as the modern
segment of unorganized manufacturing, in Assam‟s unorganized manufacturing sector has
been very marginal, in terms of number of units and workers; but in terms of gross value
added they have fairly respectable shares.

However, going by absolute numbers there has been overall improvement in number of units
during 1994-95 to 2005-06, but a break up in the period shows that during 1994-95 to 2000-
01 the number of units has drastically declined, particularly for OAMEs and NDMEs
segments, while numbers of DME units has increased; and then during 2000-01 to 2005-06
the number of units has increased in each segments of the unorganized manufacturing sector.
But the absolute figures for NDMEs units in 2005-06 are lower than those for 1994-95, while
in the other two segments the figures in 2005-06 are higher than those for 1994-95. In terms
of numbers of workers there has been improvement in the absolute numbers during 1994-95
to 2005-06 for the overall unorganized manufacturing sector, but except for DMEs segment,
the OAMEs and NDMEs segments have suffered sharp decline in workers between 1994-95
and 2005-06. In the OAMEs and NDMEs segments the absolute decline in number of
workers during 1994-95 to 2000-01 was much sharper than the increase in number of workers
during 2000-01 to 2005-06. Contradictorily, the DMEs segment has experienced significant
increase in number of workers throughout the period (from 17 thousands in 1994-95 to 25.2
thousands in 2000-01 and then to 45.9 thousands in 2005-06). In terms of gross value added,
the unorganized manufacturing sector has experienced significant rise during the study period
as well as during the two sub-periods.

5. Growth of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

The growth performance of unorganized manufacturing sector of Assam during 1994-95 to

2005-06 is illustrated in Table 3 in terms of three indicators, viz. number of units, number of
workers and gross value added. In terms of number of units, the overall unorganized
manufacturing sector has witnessed an annual decline of 1.62 percent during 1994-95 to

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2000-01. The decline was largely caused by significant decline in the NDMEs segment (6.42
percent) and OAMEs segment (1.01 percent), while the DMEs segment enjoyed an annual
growth rate of 4.1 percent. However, during 2000-01 to 2005-06 the overall unorganized
manufacturing sector has witnessed an annual growth of 5.89 percent, the growth was not
uniform among all the three segments of the sector; DMEs sector being enjoyed the highest
growth rate (9.46 percent). For the entire period (1994-95 to 2005-06) the annual growth rate
in number of units recorded at 1.73 percent and barring the NDMEs segment, the other two
segments have witnessed significant growth.

The employment situation in unorganized manufacturing sector has witnessed drastic decline
(3.63 percent) during 1994-95 to 2000-01, but the sector has experienced significant rise
(4.86 percent) during 2000-01 to 2005-06 and a marginal improvement (0.14 percent) for the
entire period (1994-95 to 2005-06). Looking at the growth in the sub-sectors, the OAMEs and
NDMEs sector have suffered a sharp decline during 1994-95 to 2000-01 and considerable
growth during 2000-01 to 2001-05, but a marginal decline for the entire period. Contrarily,
the DMEs segment has enjoyed significant growth in workers throughout the entire period.

Table 3: Growth of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

Variables Enterprises Types 1994-95/2000-01 2000-01/2005-06 1994-95/2005-06
OAME -1.01 5.81 2.03
NDME -6.42 6.26 -0.86
No. of Units
DME 4.10 9.46 6.50
All -1.62 5.89 1.73
OAME -3.61 3.76 -0.33
NDME -5.83 7.12 -0.15
No. of Workers
DME 6.78 12.74 9.45
All -3.63 4.86 0.14
Gross Value OAME 3.33 6.34 4.68
Added* NDME -2.18 13.00 4.45
DME 17.52 5.63 11.96
All 3.10 8.05 5.32
Note: * Values are at Constant (1993-94) Prices.
Source: Same as Table 2.

In terms of real gross value added the unorganized manufacturing sector has improved quite
considerably. 4 The real gross value added of the overall unorganized manufacturing sector
has recorded an annual growth of 3.1 percent during 1994-95 to 2000-01, 8.05 percent during

4
We have used the state gross domestic product deflator for the manufacturing sector (at 1993–1994 prices) to
deflate the nominal gross value added.

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2000-01 to 2001-05 and 5.32 percent during 1994-95 to 2001-05. All the sub-sectors have
experienced quite considerable growth in terms of real gross value added during the entire
study period as well as during the two sub-periods, except the NDMEs segment, which has
suffered a decline during 1994-95 to 2000-01.

5.1 Growth of Workers by Employment type

The above analysis reveals that after witnessing sharp decline in employment during 1994-95
to 2000-01, there has been significant rise in employment of Assam‟s unorganized
manufacturing sector in recent years (during 2000-01 to 2005-06). But, it is also important to
investigate the nature and quality of the employment. Therefore, in this section we analyze
the growth of workers in terms of the nature of employment- part-time and full-time. Table 4
shows that there has been sharp decline in both the full-time and part-time workers during
1994-95 to 2000-01, but the decline is higher for the full-time workers (101.5 thousands)
compared to part-time workers (22.5 thousands). The decline is full-time workers is largely
contributed by the decline in OAMEs and NDMEs segments, while the DMEs segment has
experienced improvement. The decline in part-time workers is mainly contributed by the
OAMEs segment, while the NDMEs and DMEs segments have experienced increase in part-
time workers during this period. During 2000-01 to 2005-06 there has been increase in both
the full-time as well as part-time workers in all the segments of unorganized manufacturing
sector. But, the increase in more in case of part-time workers compared to full-time workers
(may not be in terms of absolute numbers, but in terms of growth rates) for the overall
unorganized manufacturing sector as well as it all three sun-segments.

But going by the absolute numbers, a comparison of 2005-06 with 1994-95 reveals that the
number of full-time workers for the overall unorganized manufacturing sector as well as for
OAMEs and NDMEs segments was lower in 2005-06 than those figures in 1994-95.
Contrarily, the number of part-time workers was higher in 2005-06 than those figures in
1994-95. Only for the DMEs segment the number of both full-time and part-time workers
was higher in 2005-06 than those figures in 1994-95. This implies that the size of increase in
full-time workers during 2000-01 to 2005-06 was lower that the size of decline during 1994-
95 to 2000-01, which resulted in overall decline in full-time workers for the overall
unorganized manufacturing sector and its sub-sectors, except for DMEs segments during the
entire study period (1994-95 to 2005-06).

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Table 4: Workers by Employment type in Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing Sector: 1994-95 to 2005-06
1994-95 2000-01 2005-06
Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total
Composition of Workers (in Thousands)
OAME 356.8 132.7 489.5 283.8 108.7 392.5 325.0 147.1 472.1
NDME 109.5 6.8 116.3 74.2 6.9 81.1 101.4 13.0 114.4
DME 15.4 1.6 17.0 22.4 2.8 25.2 38.9 7.0 45.9
All 481.9 140.9 622.8 380.4 118.4 498.8 465.4 167.1 632.5
Increment/Decrement (in Thousands)
2000-01/1994-95 2005-06/2000-01 2005-06/1994-95
OAME -73.0 -24.0 -97.0 41.2 38.4 79.6 -31.8 14.4 -17.4
NDME -35.3 0.1 -35.2 27.2 6.1 33.3 -8.1 6.2 -1.9
DME 7.0 1.2 8.2 16.5 4.2 20.7 23.5 5.4 28.9
All -101.5 -22.5 -124.0 85.0 48.7 133.7 -16.5 26.2 9.7
Growth Rate (%)
1994-95/2000-01 2000-01/2005-06 1994-95/2005-06
OAME -3.74 -3.27 -3.61 2.75 6.24 3.76 -0.85 0.94 -0.33
NDME -6.28 0.24 -5.83 6.45 13.51 7.12 -0.70 6.07 -0.15
DME 6.44 9.78 6.78 11.67 20.11 12.74 8.79 14.36 9.45
All -3.87 -2.86 -3.63 4.12 7.13 4.86 -0.32 1.56 0.14
Source: Same as Table 2.

6. Technology Indicators of Unorganized Manufacturing Sector

It is generally believed that the unorganized manufacturing sector uses inferior technology,
which results in low productivity, low profits level and stagnation (Sahu, 2007). In this
section we have discussed the technology indicators of the sector in terms of parameters such
as capital-labour ratio, labour productivity and ratio of gross value added to fixed capital by
enterprise types. The level and growth of these three indicators are reported in Table 5 and
Table 6 respectively.

The capital-labour ratio (at constant 1993-94 prices) for the overall unorganized
manufacturing sector, stood at Rs. 4180 in 1994-95, which increased to Rs. 5688 in 2000-01
and then Rs. 8040 in 2005-06 (Table 5). The capital-labour ratio is highest for the DMEs
segment, which is relatively capital intensive within the unorganized manufacturing sector,
which it is lowest in the OAMEs segment, which is the tiniest segment of the unorganized
manufacturing sector. The real capital-labour ratio of the overall unorganized manufacturing
sector recorded an annual growth of 5.27 percent during 1994-95 to 2000-01, 7.17 percent
during 2000-01 to 2005-06 and 6.13 percent during 1994-95 to 2005-06 (Table 6). All the
sub-sectors of unorganized manufacturing sector have recorded significant growth rate during
the overall study period as well as the sub-periods, the highest growth being recorded in the
DMEs segment.

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 Table 5: Technology Indicators of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing sector
Enterprise Type Year Capital-Labour Per Worker Ratio of GVA to
Ratio (Rs.)* Productivity (Rs.)* Fixed capital
1994-95 3163 4398 1.39
OAME 2000-01 3982 6675 1.68
2005-06 5392 7545 1.40
1994-95 7990 10720 1.34
NDME 2000-01 11172 13473 1.21
2005-06 13274 17595 1.33
1994-95 7377 15207 2.06
DME 2000-01 14587 27001 1.85
2005-06 22202 19502 0.88
All 1994-95 4180 5874 1.41
Manufacturing 2000-01 5688 8808 1.55
2005-06 8040 10231 1.27
Note: * Values are at Constant (1993-94) Prices
Source: Source: Same as Table 3.

Table 6: Growth (%) of Technology Indicators of Assam’s Unorganized Manufacturing sector

(Figures are in percentage)
Enterprise Type Year Capital Labour Per Worker Ratio of GVA to
Ratio* Productivity* Fixed capital
1994-95/2000-01 3.91 7.20 3.17
OAME 2000-01/2005-06 6.25 2.48 -3.55
1993-94/2005-06 4.97 5.03 0.06
1994-95/2000-01 5.74 3.88 -1.76
NDME 2000-01/2005-06 3.51 5.48 1.91
1993-94/2005-06 4.72 4.61 -0.11
1994-95/2000-01 12.03 10.04 -1.78
DME 2000-01/2005-06 8.76 -6.30 -13.85
1993-94/2005-06 10.53 2.29 -7.46
All 1994-95/2000-01 5.27 6.99 1.63
Manufacturing 2000-01/2005-06 7.17 3.04 -3.85
1993-94/2005-06 6.13 5.17 -0.90
Note: * Figures are at Constant (1993-94) Prices
Source: Source: Same as Table 3.

Although we are aware about the fact that the partial productivity measures present only a
partial picture of the efficiency in factor-use, here we have discussed the factor productivity
of the unorganized manufacturing sector by using the partial factor productivity measures.
The per-worker productivity (at constant 1993-94 prices) for the overall unorganized
manufacturing sector has increased from Rs. 5874 in 1994-95 to Rs. 8808 in 2000-01 and
then to Rs. 10231 in 2005-06. The per-worker productivity has increased in all the three
segments of unorganized manufacturing sector, except for DMEs between 2000-01 and 2005-
06. The annual growth in per-worker productivity (at constant 1993-94 prices) for the overall

10

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unorganized manufacturing sector has recorded at 6.99 percent during 1994-95 to 2000-01,
which has slowed down to 3.04 percent during 2000-01 to 2005-06. For the entire period
(1994-95 to 2005-06) the growth rate was 5.17 percent. All the three segments within the
unorganized manufacturing sector have recorded growth in real per-worker productivity
during the entire period and two sub-periods, except the DMEs segment during 2000-01 to
2005-06.

The ratio of gross value added to fixed capital has increased during 1994-95 to 2000-01 for
the overall unorganized manufacturing sector and its OAMEs segment, while it has declined
for NDMEs and DMEs segment during the same. On the other hand, during 2000-01 to 2005-
06, the ratio has declined for the overall unorganized manufacturing sector as well as OAMEs
and DMEs segments, but increased for NDMEs segment. Compared with the year 1994-95
the ratio of gross value added to fixed capital in 2005-06 was lower for the overall
unorganized manufacturing sector as well as NDMEs and DMEs segments, but higher in
OAMEs segment.

7. Conclusion

In this paper we have examined the growth and employment potentiality of the unorganized
manufacturing sector in Assam for the period 1994-95 to 2005-06. The findings of the paper
reveal that the unorganized manufacturing sector plays a dominant position in Assam‟s
industrial economy, especially in terms of number of units and employment. However, the
performance of the sector has been abysmal over the years, especially in terms of growth
rates and technology indicators. In spite of the huge potentiality of the sector for creation of
gainful employment in the State the sector was not able to generate enough employment
opportunities for the growing labourforce in the State. Although, the sector has shown some
sort of increase in employment in the recent years (between 2000-01 and 2005-06), but it is
found that the quality of employment has been deteriorating during this period, since the
number of full-time workers has sharply declined and there has been increase in part-time
workers only.

11

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