Over 40% of Indian graduates under 25 unemployed: Report

A new report by Azim Premji University has revealed that 42% of Indian graduates under 25 are unable to find jobs. The report titled State of Working India 2023 also showed that the unemployment rate in India declined post-covid for all educational qualifications. However it continues to stay over 15% for graduates.

“There is large variation in the rate of unemployment even within the higher educated group. The unemployment rate falls from over 40 percent for educated youth under 25 years of age to less than 5 percent for graduates who are 35 years and above,” the report said.

The report also highlighted that the relationship between the country's growth and the employment rate has turned weaker over time. The policies formed to increase the GDP need not necessarily aide in creating more jobs.

“Over the long-run GDP growth and employment growth have been uncorrelated in India suggesting that policies oriented towards achieving faster GDP growth will not necessarily speed up job creation,” the report claimed.

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As per the report, The loss of jobs during the pandemic forced workers to fall back on agriculture or self-employment in order to survive. As a result, the share of employment accounted for by these two sectors rose sharply in the lockdown quarter (April-June 2020).

However, two years later, unemployment had declined to pre-pandemic levels for men but continued to remain elevated for women. After the pandemic while men entered construction work, women who quit agriculture didn't find a place in the workforce.

“While half of the lost employment is accounted for by women, only a third of the increase in formal employment accrued to women. So, in net terms, women lost out on formal employment in this period. Not only that, there was a shift towards self-employment due to distress,” the report shows.