India youth unemployment much higher among graduates: ILO
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Jobless rate in their case stands at 29.1pc. It is 3.4pc if they cannot read or write
- the Indian women accounted for 76.7pc of the educated unemployed youths compared with 62.2pc
- Joblessness was also higher in urban areas than in rural parts
GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Web Desk) – The unemployment rate among the educated Indian youths – having a graduate degree – stands at 29.1 per cent, says the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a latest report.
“In 2022, the unemployment rate among youths was six times greater than among persons with a secondary or higher level of education (at 18.4pc) and nine times greater among graduates (at 29.1pc) than for persons who cannot read and write (at 3.4pc).”
The ILO in “India Employment Report 2024: Youth education, employment and skills” also mentions that the educated female youths experienced higher levels of unemployment compared with educated male peers.
Hence, the Indian women accounted for 76.7pc of the educated unemployed youths compared with 62.2pc. Joblessness was also higher in urban areas than in rural parts.
It also notes that India has a large proportion of youths, particularly young women, who are not in education, employment or training.
“One in three young people has had such status in India, which has been almost equal in rural and urban areas and increased over the years after 2000. Young women are much more likely to not be in employment, education or training than young men, and this was especially more pronounced among older youths than younger ones.
“In fact, women not in employment, education or training amounted to a proportion nearly five times larger than among their male counterparts (48.4pc versus 9.8pc) and accounted for around 95pc of the total youth population not in employment, education or training in 2022.”
“Unemployment in India was predominantly a problem among youths, especially youths with a secondary level of education or higher, and it intensified over time,” the ILO said.
The report also says that youth unemployment rates in India are currently higher than the global levels. “The Indian economy has not been able to create enough remunerative jobs in the non-farm sectors for new educated youth labor force entrants, which is reflected in the high and increasing unemployment rate.”
Another important aspect discussed in the report is that employment is dominated by poor-quality employment in the informal sector and informal employment.
“Employment in India is predominantly self-employment and casual employment. Nearly 82pc of the workforce engages in the informal sector, and nearly 90pc is informally employed.
At the same time, wages and earnings are stagnant or declining. While wages of casual labourers maintained a modest upward trend during 2012–22, real wages of regular workers either remained stagnant or declined.
Self-employed real earnings also declined after 2019. Overall, wages have remained low. As much as 62pc of the unskilled casual agriculture workers and 70pc of such workers in the construction sector at in India did not receive the prescribed daily minimum wages in 2022, says the ILO in its report.
