New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): India needs to create more than 8 million jobs a year to maintain its employment rate which has been declining over the past decade, according to the latest World Bank report.

In its biannual South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) report released in Washington on Sunday, the multilateral lender also projected India's growth rate to rise to 7.3 per cent in the ongoing fiscal.

"Every month, the working age increases by 1.3 million people and India must create 8.1 million jobs a year to maintain its employment rate, which has been declining based on employment data analysed from 2005 to 2015, largely due to women leaving the job market," the report said.

"(India's) growth is expected to accelerate from 6.7 per cent in 2017 to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and to subsequently stabilise supported by a sustained recovery in private investment and private consumption," it said.

The report projected the country's growth to further accelerate to 7.5 per cent in 2019-20 and 2020-21, while suggesting that India should seek to accelerate investments and exports to take advantage of the recovery in global growth.

In this edition of the SAEF titled "Jobless Growth?", the World Bank also said South Asia has regained its lead as the fastest growing region in the world supported by recovery in India.

"Much of the progress, however, is driven by India's growth rebound and is not consistent across countries. Despite accelerating global growth and trade, exports remain weak. Progress on fiscal consolidation is slow, and deficits are high," a World Bank release said.

The report contends that growth alone will not be enough to attain the higher employment rates enjoyed by other developing countries, especially among women.

"More than 1.8 million young people will reach working age every month in South Asia through 2025 and the good news is that economic growth is creating jobs in the region," World Bank South Asia Region Chief Economist Martin Rama said in a statement.