New Delhi: Haryana has topped in providing maximum number of jobs in the manufacturing sector in urban areas among major states, industry body Assocham said today.

"As many as 319 people per 1,000 were employed in the industry in urban Haryana and 306 in Gujarat as against the national average of 242, as per the latest data from the National Sample Survey Office," the chamber said.

It said that although services sector remains the biggest source of employment in urban areas throughout the country, these two states have managed to ensure that industry too provides a major avenue for jobs.

"The two states were in the top in terms of the industry providing the maximum employment in the urban areas among the major states," it added. The chamber said that these two states were less dependent on services sector.

As against the national average of 683 urban people per 1,000 finding jobs in the services sector, 641 found jobs in Gujarat and 627 in Haryana, it said.

Assocham President Rajkumar Dhoot said that the share of industry in the overall employment must grow so that more and more people can get jobs in the manufacturing sector.

"Though the share of the industrial sector in the total employment is more than its contribution in the GDP, we need to increase its role in the overall economy," he said.

Assocham said that over-dependence on the services sector is not considered the best option for a country which aspires for a growth combined with employment generation.

Citing example of China, which is now known as the factory of the world, Dhoot said: "we have done well in the services sector but we have to diversify aggressively in the manufacturing."

He added that the government and industry and other stakeholders will have to ensure that all the obstacles like land acquisition and environment issues which have been blocking investment in the big manufacturing projects should be removed sooner than later.