India needs 8-9 million new jobs a year, economists tell BFSI Summit
28 October 2026 · 2 min read · HireHo
Based on Business Standard reports of the BFSI Insight Summit, 27 October 2026, summarised in HireHo's own words. Summarised in our own words.
8-9 millionjobs needed a year (Chinoy)
54-55%work that is self-employment (Ghosh)
30.7%informal workers with any training (PLFS)
At the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit in Mumbai on 27 October 2026, two economists spoke about jobs. They were Sajjid Chinoy of JPMorgan and Soumya Kanti Ghosh of the State Bank of India.
What Sajjid Chinoy said
- India needs to create about 8-9 million jobs a year to absorb its growing working-age population.
- He welcomed government focus on labour-heavy sectors: footwear, apparel, leather goods, and gems and jewellery.
- Data centres alone cannot be a broad jobs strategy. He cited an estimate that a 200 MW AI data centre costs about $8.2 billion and employs around 100 people in the US.
- He said AI could disrupt entry-level jobs faster than earlier technology waves.
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What Soumya Kanti Ghosh said
- Self-employment is now about 54-55% of all employment, up from about 50% five decades ago.
- Only 30.7% of informal workers have received training, per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey.
- Two government programmes trained about one million people over 7-8 years, which he called too small for the need.
- Gig work is a partial buffer but cannot be the whole answer. He noted eShram data showing many informal workers earn around Rs 1.2 lakh a year, against per capita income of about Rs 2.35 lakh.
What this means for you
- Skills training gives workers an edge, since most informal workers have none.
- Factory, textile, footwear and similar jobs are seen as a main route to mass employment.
- A certificate in a trade skill can help you stand out when employers shortlist.
These are views expressed by the speakers at the summit, not government projections.
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SourcesBusiness Standard: BFSI Summit 2026, focus must be on labour-intensive growth, say economistsBusiness Standard: India needs labour-intensive growth to address job challengesHireHo explains these reports in its own words. Figures belong to the sources above.
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