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TRADE
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EXTENt OF EMPLOYMENT.
TRADE AND COMMERCE IS THE SECOND IMPORTANT SOURCE of livelihood for people in Ratnagiri district. According to the 1951 Census report, it provided livelihood either directly or indirectly to 61,204 persons out of the total population of 1,711,964. The table below indicates the number of self-supporting persons engaged in various trades in 1951.
TABLE No. 1.
NUMBER OF SELF-SUPPORTING PERSONS ENGAGED IN VARIOUS TRADES IN RATNAGIRI DISTRICT (1951).
|
Employers. |
Employees. |
Independent. workers. |
Total. |
Retail trade otherwise unclassified |
772 |
1,258 |
2,410 |
4,440 |
Retail trade in food-stuffs (including narcotics). |
1,034 |
1,268 |
4,516 |
6,818 |
Retail trade in fuel (including petrol) |
22 |
105 |
204 |
331 |
Retail trade in textile and leather goods. |
140 |
181 |
368 |
689 |
Wholesale trade in food-stuffs |
100 |
216 |
285 |
601 |
Wholesale trade in commodities other than food-stuffs. |
109 |
153 |
164 |
426 |
Real Estate |
4 |
2 |
20 |
26 |
Insurance |
-- |
21 |
11 |
32 |
Money lending, banking and other financial business. |
18 |
262 |
69 |
349 |
|
Total |
2,199 |
3,466 |
8,047 |
13,712 |
Of the total number of 13,711 self-supporting persons engaged in trade, as many as 8,932 came from rural areas and the rest from urban areas. As many as 12,277 persons out of 13,711, that is, over 80 per cent, were engaged in retail trade.
The statement below, compiled from the census reports, gives the number of persons engaged in trade.
TABLE No. 2.
NUMBER OF PERSONS ENGAGED IN TRADE IN RATNAGIRI DISTRICT IN 1911, 1921 AND 1931.
|
Category of Trade. |
Number of Persons engaged in |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
|
1. |
Textiles |
734 |
310 |
109 |
|
2. |
Skins and leather |
45 |
31 |
15 |
|
3. |
Wood |
5 |
29 |
70 |
|
4. |
Metals |
43 |
22 |
38 |
|
5. |
Pottery, bricks and tiles |
1 |
108 |
58 |
|
6. |
Chemical products |
72 |
23 |
29 |
|
7. |
Hotels and restaurants |
856 |
1,491 |
1,125 |
|
8. |
Food stuffs |
6,887 |
11,413 |
6,542 |
|
9. |
Clothing and toilet articles |
48 |
61 |
130 |
|
10. |
Furniture |
135 |
2 |
61 |
|
11. |
Building material |
24 |
6 |
14 |
|
12. |
Means of transport |
189 |
330 |
178 |
|
13. |
Fuel |
69 |
244 |
77 |
|
14. |
Articles of luxury and arts |
649 |
730 |
667 |
|
15. |
Others |
1,062 |
1,963 |
1,154 |
|
16. |
Brokerage and commission |
170 |
410 |
16 |
Though no smooth increase or decrease in the number of persons engaged is being observed, the increase in 1951 census was quite perceptible. This might be due to the overall increase in the commercial activities in the district since the last two decades. World War II and the consequent rationing of consumers goods caused considerable changes in the pattern of employment in trade and commerce.
Such a table, however, could not be illustrative of the historical picture as the basis of collection of the occupational data in the censuses was not uniform and faultless. Also the statistics of employment alone do not reveal the true nature of factual correlations. Nevertheless, this is calculated to serve as a partial presentation of occupational data.
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