Among India’s jobless, 83% are youth: International Labour Organization

New Delhi: According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 83 per cent of India’s youth is unemployed. The India Employment Report 2024 was compiled by ILO and the Institute for Human Development (IHD). Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran released the report on Tuesday.

According to the study, the number of educated youngsters among all jobless people increased from 54.2 per cent in 2000 to 65.7 per cent in 2022. Currently, more educated women are unemployed (76.7 per cent) than men (62.2 per cent).

“This indicates that the problem of unemployment in India has become increasingly concentrated among the youth, especially the educated ones in urban areas,” the report said.

The researchers also show that from 2000 to 2019, employment and underemployment of youngsters saw a rise, but declined during the Covid-19 pandemic years. In 2000, half of the employed youth population was self-employed, 13 per cent had regular jobs, while the remaining 37 percent had casual jobs. The corresponding figures for 2012, 2019, and 2022 were 46 percent, 21 percent, 33 percent; 42 percent, 32 percent, 26 percent; and 47 percent, 28 percent, 25 percent, respectively.