110 SOCIAL SCIENTIST g UNEMPLOYMENT IN WEST BENGAL IN 1971 • Estimated I BAES1 ^ J^SSO9 ~^ Lakhs percentage Lakhs percentage Unemployed Rural 4.37 1.3 3.00 0.9 Urban 2.B9 2.6 3.83 3.5 Total 7.26 1.6 6.83 1.5 NOTES: 1 Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics, Government of West Bengal, December 1970-November 1971. 2 National Sample Survey Organization, Government of India. Percentages are to the population in the respective areas. Failure of the Earlier Strategy As may be seen the percentages differ, because of the differences in approach. The figures however give a broad idea about the dimension of unemployment in the State. Notwith-standing the variation in the estimates, the fact remains that the policies adopted so far for providing employment have hardly made any dent in the situation. The State has been depending on the expansion of industry^ daring the Plan periods for siphoning off the surplus rural labour force. However, disillusionment in this regard set in early, on two accounts. Firstly, the jute industry, the largest provider of employment in the organized sector, has been facing difficulties for a long time now. In the late fifties rationalization by the industry led to a drastic reduction in employment. Employotcnt in registered jute factories stood at the le^el of 277,000'in 1951. By 1959 it had declined to 210,000. This trend has been aggravated in recent years because of the incursion to a significant extent of substitutes in foreign markets. Peak employment in the industry in later years was attained in 1965 with a level of 259,000, which by 1970 declined to 224,080 and has since been shrinking further* Secondly, the engineering industry of the State, which at one time was the backbone of the manufacturing industries in the country, lost out in terms of growth when the Central government decelerated the rate of public investment from 1965 onwards. The highest level of employment for the industry was reached in 1965 when it rose to 324,000' from the level of 236,000 in 1960. Since 1965 there has been a continual decline with employment reaching the level of 294,000 by 187Q» Th« engineering industry in West Bengal is mainly involved in the manufact* ure of structurals, certain types of heavy and medium machinery, railway equipment, rolling stock and road building equipment. The deceleration in investment by the public sector in construction, public works and railway expansion had telling effects on the engineering industry of West Bengal. Within a decade froift 1965 the State turned into a nursery