Diversification in Non-farm Employment in Rural Punjab

The non-farm sector offers varying forms of employment in response to different dynamics. Both low productivity as well as highly productive jobs are being provided by the non-farm sector. A sample of 225 households from Punjab state was selected to accomplish the objective of the study through a multistage sampling technique. Percentage of persons engaged in non-farm activities increased over sixteen years (2000–01 to 2016–17) from 31.53 to 42.09 per cent. In 2000–01, from all the non-farm activities, average annual income per household was highest from government jobs followed by private job earners, self-employees and labourers. In 2016–17, the average annual income per household from abroad was highest followed by government job employees, self-employees, private job, and wage earners. The class of wage earners remained least productive during both the periods but the highest number of persons were engaged in this class. Improvement in educational status, creation of job opportunities, and development of skill development centres are needed for the augmentation of the non-farm sector.