ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to document the gross occupational mobility rates. Socio-religious group-specific total mobility rates have been calculated from 1999‒00 to 2018‒19. This chapter makes use of the NSS-PLFS data and discusses why NSS is a superior option to other surveys currently in use. This chapter also demonstrates how the approach taken in this study, which is based on NSS-PLFS data, yields estimates that are more reliable and precise than some earlier attempts, which were mostly based on data from part-time workers. To gage changes in mobility independent of changes in occupational structure, relative occupational mobility rates have also been estimated. The direction of mobility has also been investigated using a multinomial logit model. This chapter also discusses why relative risk estimates are superior to odds ratios. The ST population has the highest prevalence of higher gross mobility, followed by the SCs. In contrast to SCs, however, STs have not made significant strides in terms of occupational mobility. For a variety of reasons, the Muslim population exhibits substantial gross occupational mobility. This chapter poses further research issues, such as: is the high immobility among Hindu Others a result of their concentration in highly educated, well-paying occupations and subsequent generational transfer? In which occupations are Muslims highly mobile? Is STs’ occupational mobility also evident in education?
