The rising problem of unemployment: What does the India Employment Report 2024 suggest?

The International Labor Organization and Human Development jointly brought about the India Employment Report 2024. The report was released on the 26th of March. The report talks about "youth employment, skills, and education".

The India Employment Report 2024 made an analysis of the trends of the Indian labor market for a time period of 20 years. It is important to note that these decades also include the COVID-19 pandemic years. The report brought forward the emerging aspects of the employment challenges that are now hindering the economy.

The important findings of the report

The authors of the report suggest that the proportion of the working age population of the country, i.e. the age bracket of 15 to 59 surged to 64 percent in the year 2021 from 61 percent in 2011. It is important to note that this percentage is estimated to touch 65 percent in the year 2036. Every year, over 8 million young people are added to this bracket. Now, in such a scenario, an important statistic to look at would be the percentage of education, which has increased to 35 percent in the year 2022 from 18 percent in 2000. However, the percentage of youth that is a part of the economic activities declined to 37 percent from 52 percent in the same time frame.

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The authors of the report point toward the issue of unemployment in India and call it "predominantly a problem among youth". This issue is common in especially those who hold a secondary level of education or a level of education higher than that. Moreover, the report suggests that the issue has intensified with time. The authors noted that among the total unemployed population, the share of unemployed youth in the year 2022 was 82.9 percent.

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Moreover, among all the unemployed people, the share of educated young people increased to a total of 65.7 percent in the year 2022 from 54.2 percent in the year 2000. Additionally, among the unemployed youth that hold secondary or higher levels of education, the share of women was over 76.7 percent.

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Recommendations of the report

The authors of the report stated that the country was actually expected to hold a 5-6 percent sustained economic growth in the next 15 years. The authors urged the policymakers to take important steps to curb the issue. “Rapid technological changes and high growth have increased the gap between skill supply and demand,” they said.

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