Nor is there much evidence of any increase or major trend in the share of the secondary sector in male employment - over the entire period it has remained broadly between 32 and 34 per cent of total male employment. The only evident shift is that of an increase in the share of the tertiary sector, from around 55 per cent to more than 58 per cent, but this is a shift that is essentially established by the beginning of the 1990s, and the last decade does not show any further tendency in this direction.
 
For women workers, there are more evident changes in terms of sectoral shifts. At the start of the period, in the late 1970s, all three sectors commanded roughly equal shares of female employment at around one-third each. Over the entire period there is a continuous pattern of decline in the proportion of primary sector employment, although this tendency itself decelerates over the 1990s. Secondary sector employment shares remain approximately stable, with if anything a slight decrease over the 1990s, belying the expectation of feminisation of manufacturing employment. The significant shift is in terms of increased employment in the tertiary sector, whose share goes up by more than 14 percentage points over the entire period. This trend is one that carries into the 1990s.
 
For male workers, while the sectoral shifts in employment may not be very marked, there is a much sharper tendency that emerges with respect to type of employment. In context like that of urban India, there is a general perception that regular employment is the most desirable, not only because of the security of contract that it offers, but also because it is typically associated with better wages and working conditions.
 
While it is true that some kinds of self-employment at the upper ends of the value added spectrum and in certain of the newer "sunrise" service sector areas do offer attractive work opportunities for skilled professionals, in general most self-employed workers in the service sector are those in low-remuneration informal sector activities with very insecure work conditions. This being the case, the decline in regular employment, and the relative increase in both self-employment and casual work, that are shown in Chart 7, are generally indicative of greater insecurity of working conditions.
Chart 7 >>
 
While self-employment does show a fluctuating trend, the increase in the share of male casual employment is much more marked. This is not a new tendency - it has been noted in India, in both rural and urban areas, for several decades now, but the 1990s average is especially high in this regard. Such a tendency would probably be welcomed by those who see in this an indication of greater "flexibility" in the labour market, but in the context of the other trends already identified, what it tells us is that male workers are increasingly working in more fragile and vulnerable conditions, and despite this urban employment generation remains inadequate at best and even less dynamic than in earlier periods.
 
For women workers, however, the picture is more mixed and there are some positive signs as well. The tendencies are shown in Chart 8. Thus, while self-employment has been coming down fairly systematically over the entire period, there are increases in the share of both casual employment and regular employment. While the increased significance of casual employment has all the problematic implications that it has for male workers, the increase in the importance of regular employment should be welcomed. The inference could be made that most of this has occurred in service sectors, in both public and private sector employment, since as we have seen above, this is the sector whose share has been growing fastest for women workers as well.
Chart 8 >>