Achi news desk-
Let choices and promises flow freely. One key promise that no party shies away from making is providing jobs to the unemployed; The case of the then prime minister-in-the-making, Narendra Modi, promising two million-dollar jobs every year in the event of the NDA coming to power is now part of folklore, making it easy for the opposition to beat him. Firmly in the saddle, and a few years later, he will advise the unemployed to start selling orders, that there is no shame in throwing one of the nation’s favorite snacks by the wayside. Meanwhile, the fate of the 2014 promise of 2 million jobs a year remains unclear as the nation heads for yet another strike. The parties have not yet come out with their election manifestos detailing what they will do if they are elected to power; Of course, ‘Modi’s guarantees’ have been doing the rounds for some time now and these will definitely find a place in the BJP manifesto. Yes, there will be job promises to hold the finger (exactly the index finger) of the innocent voters to the ballot box to press the button of the respective parties on the EVM.
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It is against this backdrop that the Human Development Institute for Labor and Employment released the India Employment Report 2024 in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO) on March 26. As its introduction says, the report examines the challenge of youth employment in the context of economic scenarios. , the emerging labor market, education and skills in India and the changes seen in the last two decades. Based on the latest official data, the report highlights the latest trends in the Indian labor market.
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Despite the Centre’s constant proclamation of India’s determined march towards global prominence in terms of socio-economic development, the report on the state of employment in the country presents a not too happy picture. It revealed the rise in unemployment rates in India, along with the quality of employment of the Indian workforce. The report highlighted the harsh reality of the country’s labor market, that the labor force participation rate in India, along with the unemployment rate, showed a long-term decline, especially the female labor market participation rate in rural areas. Unfortunately, for a country that boasts of youth making up the bulk of its population, the report presents a grim reality: paradoxically, the unemployment rate among young Indians was higher among educated youth. The report shares statistics, saying that unemployment among youth with secondary education or high school was 18.4 percent in 2022 and 19.7 percent in 2023. Among youth with a master’s degree or higher, the unemployment rate was 29.1 percent in 2022 and 28.4 percent in 2023, while young women with a bachelor’s degree or higher experienced an unemployment rate of 34.8 percent in 2023. There is clearly something fundamentally wrong that deserves immediate attention. As the report notes, with a large portion of the population of working age, India is expected to be in the potential demographic dividend zone for at least another decade. However, the youth population, which stood at 27% in 2021, is expected to decline to 23% by 2036, with about 7-8 million youth are added to the workforce every year, whose productive utilization could lead India to reap a demographic dividend.. The next government will no doubt have its task cut out.
