Delhi best city to live, rent highest in Mumbai but Kolkata has more jobs

In the Asia Pacific region, Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand rank in joint 18th place. Singapore ranks at 50th place while Hong Kong is at 117.

Though Kolkata did not find any mention in the list, it may take heart from any another survey which has put the employment status in the land of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore as higher than that of Delhi, Chennai and Pune.

According to the latest report of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), which covers Class 1 cities (those with a population of 10 lakh and above), Class 2 and Class 3 towns — the former with a population over 50,000 and the latter, less, the employment status for males in Kolkata stood at 751 per thousand in 2004-05. However, the number of females employed were abysmally low at 190 per thousand.

The employment status for males in Delhi is 714 per thousand and female employment is 112 per thousand. The figure for Chennai is 749 for male and 168 for female per thousand.

Still, while Kolkata is ahead of Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Nasik, it lags far behind Bangalore — 841 male and 202 female per thousand — and Mumbai (786 male and 267 female per thousand).

Some economists, however, disagree that high employment status indicate better living conditions. "The employment scenario in Kolkata has definitely been looking up in the last few years. But, it might not actually be better than Delhi and Chennai," said Abhirup Sarkar, noted economist and professor at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). According to him, the situation has not much to offer qualitywise.