Abstract
India has one of the largest youth populations in the world; her population aged 15–29 years increased from 26.6% of in 1991 to the projected figure of 27.3% in 2021. Although this does offer an opportunity to reap the demographic dividend, it is fast closing and the current ‘youth bulge’ is likely to be available for only a decade or so. Given India’s demographic transition, it hardly needs emphasis that active engagement of ‘youth’ is absolutely critical for any decent development strategy aimed at achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. Yet, even taking a long-term view, not only have the youth unemployment rates remained far above that of the all-India figures, but there have been other persistent disadvantages which severely hinder their transition from school to work. As widely acknowledged in the literature, a large proportion of them end up either un- or underemployed or in working poverty being employed in informal services and working under precarious conditions. These labour market outcomes for the youth, however, need to be placed within the broader macroeconomic architecture and the subsequent long-term structural crisis that has plagued India during much of the neo-liberal regime. In fact, the structural transformation, in particular has been one of a low and even declining employment elasticity of output; a trend which has only intensified in the recent years even prior to the pandemic. From the political economy perspective, this reflects an obvious outcome of contemporary ‘spontaneous capitalism’, which has an inherent tendency of labour repulsion. With low labour absorption on one hand, and a large pool of young people, i.e., the new labour market entrants given the current ‘youth bulge’ in the country, on the other, the issues pertaining to youth employment challenge have become crucial at the present juncture. Their employment question has become even more relevant today, as the youth faced an unequal burden of the COVID-19 induced economic crisis. Against this backdrop, the chapter looks at the various current employment and unemployment challenges confronting the youth (15–29 years) in India. In particular, emphasis has been on highlighting the particular vulnerabilities of the youth in India’s world of work relative to the older age groups (30+). The gender and social-group-based inequities have also been examined in this regard while focusing on select dimensions of participation rates and other rates of labour underutilization, employment distribution, quality of jobs, etc., across rural–urban areas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Globally comparable data for 15–29 age group is unavailable.
- 2.
In PLFS, the social security benefits considered were PF/ pension, gratuity, health care, and maternity benefit.
References
Agarwal, K. & Srivas, A. (2019, June 6). Pronab sen on why 2017–18 jobs data are comparable with previous years. The Wire.
Basu, D. (2018). An approach to the problem of employment in India (No. 2018–02). Working Paper.
Carbonero, F., Ernst, E., & Weber, E. (2020). Robots worldwide: The impact of automation on employment and trade. IAB-Discussion Paper, No. 7/2020.
Chandrasekhar, C. P., & Ghosh, J. (2002). The market that failed: A decade of neoliberal economic reforms in India. Leftword.
Chandrasekhar, C. P., & Ghosh, J. (2014). Growth, employment patterns and inequality in Asia: A case study of India. ILO.
Chaudhary, R., & Verick, S. (2014). Female labour force participation in India and beyond. ILO.
Dev, S. M., & Venkatanarayana, M. (2011). Youth employment and unemployment in India. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.
Dhingra, S., & Kondirolli, F. (2022). Jobless and stuck: Youth unemployment and Covid-19 in India second draft.
Elder, S. (2009). Key indicators of youth labour markets: Concepts, definitions and tabulations. International Labour Organization.
Ghose, A. K., & Kumar, A. (2021). India’s deepening employment crisis in the time of rapid economic growth. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer; The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), 64(2), 247–279.
Ghosh, J. (2020). A critique of the Indian government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, 47(3), 519–530.
Graetz, G., & Michaels, G. (2018). Robots at work. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100(5), 753–768.
ILO. (2019). Preparing for the future of work: National policy responses in ASEAN +6.
ILO. (2021). Briefing note: An update on the youth labour market impact of the COVID 19 crisis.
ILO. (2022). Global employment trends for youth 2022. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_853321.pdf
Jajoria, D., & Jatav, M. (2020). Is periodic labour force survey, 2017–18 comparable with employment-unemployment survey, 2011–12? Economic and Political Weekly, 55(3), 12–16.
Jha, P., Moyo, S., & Yeros, P. (2017). Capitalism and “labour reserves”: A note. In C.P. Chandrasekhar, & J. Ghosh (Eds.), Interpreting the world to change it: Essays for Prabhat Patnaik (pp. 205–207).
Jha, P., & Sikdar, S. (2020). Contemporary capitalism and employment challenges: Some reflections on India. In N. K. Mishra (Ed.), Development challenges of india after twenty-five years of economic reforms: Inequality, labour, employment and migration (pp. 157–181).
Jha, P., & Yeros, P. (2019). Global agricultural value systems and the South: Some critical issues at the current juncture. Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy 8(1–2), 14–29.
Jha, P., & Yeros, P. (2021). Labour questions in the south: Back to the drawing board, yet again. In P. Jha, W. Chambati, & L. Ossome (Eds.), Labour questions in the global south (pp. 19–48).
Jha, P., & Kumar, M. (2020). Labour in India and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian Economic Journal, 68(3), 417–437. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019466220983494
Jha, P., & Mishra, P. (2022a). Persistent vulnerabilities in the world of work and contemporary capitalism: Some reflections on India. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 65(2), 347–372.
Jha, P., & Mishra, P. (2022b). Persistent vulnerabilities in the world of work and contemporary capitalism: Some reflections on India. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 65, 347–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-022-00382-w
Kannan, K. P., & Raveendran, G. (2019). From jobless to job-loss growth. Economic and Political Weekly, 54(44), 38–44.
Kumar, M., & Mitra, A. (2022). Labour market profile of the youth: Role of education, caste and economic background. Caste and Economic Background.
Mehrotra, S., & Parida, J. K. (2021). Stalled structural change brings an employment crisis in India. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 64, 281–308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-021-00317-x
Min, J., Kim, Y., Lee, S., Jang, T. W., Kim, I., & Song, J. (2019). The fourth industrial revolution and its impact on occupational health and safety, worker’s compensation and labor conditions. Safety and Health at Work, 10(4), 400–408.
Mishra, P., & Das, S. (2022). An estimation of rise in unemployment and income loss due to Covid-19 lockdown in India: An analysis based on PLFS data (April To June 2020). Manpower Journal, 56.
Mitra, A., & Verick, S. (2013). Youth employment and unemployment: An Indian perspective. ILO.
MoSPI. (2022). Youth in India. Available at https://www.mospi.gov.in/publication/youth-india-2022
O’Higgins, N. (2008). Youth labour markets in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, Mimeo, University of Salerno.
Papola, T. S., & Sharma, A. N. (2004). Labour: Down and out? In M. Singh (Ed.), Seminar-New Delhi (pp. 19–23).
Papola, T. S., & Sharma, A. N. (2013). Labour and employment in a fast growing country: Issues of employment and inclusiveness. In de Freitas Barbosa, A., Cacciamali, M. C. (Eds.), Economic development and inclusive growth: The challenges ahead. CEBRAP/Sao Paulo/2013.
Patnaik, P. (2019). Contemporary capitalism and the world of work. Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, 8(1–2), 303–316.
Patnaik, P. (June, 2019b). The dramatic increase in the unemployment rate. Deshabhimani.
Patnaik, P. (2005). The economics of the new phase of imperialism. International Development Economics Associates, 26.
Patnaik, P. (2006). The labour market under capitalism. Social Scientist, 34(1/2), 9–20.
Patnaik, U. (2011). Two decades of neo-liberal reforms in India: The worsening employment situation. People’s Democracy, 35(34), 17–26.
Roy, S. N. & Mukhopadhyay, P. (2019). A deep dive into female labour force participation. In Mind the gap: The State of Employment in India. Oxfam India.
Sharma, A. N. (2006). Flexibility, employment and labour market reforms in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 2078–2085.
Sharma, A. N. (2022). Youth employment and unemployment in India: Issues and challenges. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 65(2), 237–267.
Unni, J. (2023). Platforms and shared economy: Precarity of work or building agency? Presidential address. In Labour economics conference of Indian society of labour economics.
Verick, S. (2023). The challenge of youth employment: New findings and approaches. In Keynote paper at Indian society of labour economics conference 2023.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendices
Annexures
Annexure 1
Worker Population Ratio for various age cohorts—0+, 15–29, and 30+ across sectors and gender, 1999–00 to 2021–22.
Male | Female | Person | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15–29 | All ages | 30+ | 15–29 | All ages | 30+ | 15–29 | All ages | 30+ | |
Rural | |||||||||
2004–05 | 74.2 | 54.6 | 91.5 | 41 | 32.7 | 53.4 | 57.7 | 43.9 | 72.4 |
2011–12 | 61.6 | 54.3 | 91.5 | 25.8 | 24.8 | 40.9 | 44.1 | 39.9 | 66.1 |
2017–18 | 48.6 | 51.7 | 86.5 | 13.8 | 17.5 | 29.4 | 31.8 | 35 | 57.8 |
2018–19 | 49.1 | 52.1 | 86.0 | 13.6 | 19 | 32.2 | 31.7 | 35.8 | 58.9 |
2019–20 | 52.5 | 53.8 | 87.5 | 18.6 | 24 | 39.7 | 35.9 | 39.2 | 63.3 |
2020–21 | 53.6 | 54.9 | 88.3 | 20.2 | 27.1 | 44.3 | 37.5 | 41.3 | 65.9 |
2021–22 | 55 | 54.7 | 87.1 | 20.4 | 26.6 | 44.3 | 38 | 40.8 | 65.6 |
Urban | |||||||||
2004–05 | 62.3 | 54.9 | 86.4 | 18.4 | 16.6 | 25.6 | 41.9 | 36.5 | 56.6 |
2011–12 | 55.8 | 54.6 | 86.2 | 15.7 | 14.7 | 21.8 | 36.8 | 35.5 | 54.5 |
2017–18 | 47.6 | 53 | 82.1 | 12.8 | 14.2 | 21.2 | 30.6 | 33.9 | 51.5 |
2018–19 | 47.6 | 52.7 | 81.0 | 12.7 | 14.5 | 21.5 | 30.9 | 34.1 | 51.2 |
2019–20 | 47.7 | 54.1 | 82.2 | 15.2 | 16.8 | 24.3 | 32.1 | 35.9 | 53.2 |
2020–21 | 49.2 | 54.9 | 81.5 | 14.3 | 17 | 24.7 | 32.6 | 36.3 | 52.8 |
2021–22 | 49.6 | 55 | 81.6 | 15.9 | 17.3 | 24.8 | 33.6 | 36.6 | 53.2 |
Rural + Urban | |||||||||
2004–05 | 70.7 | 54.7 | 90.1 | 34.9 | 28.7 | 46 | 53.3 | 42.0 | 68.1 |
2011–12 | 57.8 | 54.4 | 89.9 | 22.8 | 21.9 | 35.2 | 41.9 | 38.6 | 62.6 |
2017–18 | 48.3 | 52.1 | 85.2 | 13.5 | 16.5 | 26.8 | 31.4 | 34.7 | 55.9 |
2018–19 | 48.6 | 52.3 | 84.4 | 13.3 | 17.6 | 28.8 | 31.5 | 35.3 | 56.5 |
2019–20 | 51 | 53.9 | 85.8 | 17.6 | 21.8 | 34.8 | 34.7 | 38.2 | 60.0 |
2020–21 | 52.3 | 54.9 | 86.2 | 18.5 | 24.2 | 38.3 | 36.1 | 39.8 | 61.8 |
2021–22 | 53.5 | 54.8 | 85.5 | 19.1 | 24 | 38.4 | 36.8 | 39.6 | 61.8 |
Annexure 2
Unemployment rates by age cohorts by location and gender, 2004–05 and 2021–22.
2004–05 | 2011–12 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All age groups | ||||||||
Rural | Person | 1.7 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 5 | 4 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
Male | 1.6 | 1.7 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.8 | |
Female | 1.8 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.1 | |
Urban | Person | 4.5 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7 | 6.7 | 6.3 |
Male | 3.8 | 3 | 10.8 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.8 | |
Female | 6.9 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 9.9 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 7.9 | |
Rural + Urban | Person | 2.3 | 2.2 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
Male | 2.1 | 2.1 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.4 | |
Female | 2.7 | 2.4 | 5.7 | 6 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 | |
Youth (15–29 yrs) | ||||||||
Rural | Person | 4 | 4.9 | 16.6 | 16 | 12.9 | 10.7 | 10.6 |
Male | 3.9 | 5 | 17.4 | 16.6 | 13.8 | 11.6 | 11.4 | |
Female | 4.2 | 4.8 | 13.6 | 13.8 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 8.5 | |
Urban | Person | 10.1 | 9.2 | 20.6 | 20.2 | 19.9 | 18.5 | 17.2 |
Male | 8.8 | 8.1 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 18.2 | 16.6 | 15.8 | |
Female | 14.9 | 13.1 | 27.2 | 25.7 | 24.9 | 24.9 | 21.6 | |
Rural + Urban | Person | 5.4 | 6.1 | 17.8 | 17.3 | 15 | 12.9 | 12.4 |
Male | 5.2 | 6 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 15.1 | 13 | 12.6 | |
Female | 5.9 | 6.6 | 17.9 | 17.7 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 11.8 | |
Annexure 3
NEET proportion among the youth (15–29) across location and gender.
Rural | Urban | Rural + Urban | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Row labels | Female | Male | Person | Female | Male | Person | Female | Male | Person |
2004_05 | 46.6 | 5.3 | 25.7 | 56.5 | 8.1 | 30.6 | 49.2 | 6.1 | 27.1 |
2011_12 | 51.5 | 5.5 | 28.0 | 52.4 | 6.7 | 28.4 | 51.8 | 5.9 | 28.1 |
2017_18 | 58.3 | 13.2 | 35.0 | 51.5 | 13.3 | 32.0 | 56.2 | 13.2 | 34.1 |
2018_19 | 57.7 | 12.2 | 34.5 | 51.0 | 13.6 | 31.5 | 55.6 | 12.6 | 33.5 |
2019_20 | 52.5 | 11.5 | 31.5 | 49.6 | 12.9 | 30.5 | 51.6 | 11.9 | 31.2 |
2020_21 | 49.1 | 9.4 | 28.5 | 48.7 | 12.1 | 29.5 | 48.9 | 10.2 | 28.8 |
2021_22 | 49.1 | 9.1 | 28.7 | 46.8 | 10.9 | 27.9 | 48.5 | 9.6 | 28.5 |
Annexure 4
URs and LFPRs by Usual Per capita consumption expenditure decile across locations and gender, 2018–19 and 2020–21.
Deciles | Rural UR | Rural LFPR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Female | Male | Person | Female | Male | Person | |
2018–19 | ||||||
1 | 3.3 | 19.4 | 15.8 | 16.2 | 61.1 | 37.7 |
2 | 7 | 17.9 | 15.8 | 13.9 | 61.6 | 37.1 |
3 | 3.7 | 17.7 | 14.3 | 17.7 | 62.1 | 38.7 |
4 | 12.8 | 18.1 | 17.1 | 12.5 | 57.3 | 34.8 |
5 | 11.6 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 59.9 | 38 |
6 | 9.9 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 16.9 | 60.9 | 38.7 |
7 | 16.3 | 16.6 | 16.5 | 16.8 | 58 | 38.6 |
8 | 14.8 | 13.6 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 57.6 | 37.9 |
9 | 22.8 | 19.5 | 20.2 | 18.2 | 58 | 39 |
10 | 31 | 16.1 | 19.2 | 18 | 54.4 | 38.3 |
2021–22 | ||||||
1 | 2.7 | 12.1 | 9.5 | 21.5 | 61.4 | 40.4 |
2 | 5 | 11 | 9.5 | 19.4 | 62.3 | 40.1 |
3 | 3.1 | 12.1 | 9.7 | 20.2 | 58.4 | 38.7 |
4 | 4.9 | 9.5 | 8.2 | 21.7 | 61.8 | 41.1 |
5 | 4.3 | 9.2 | 8 | 21.9 | 64 | 43 |
6 | 7.2 | 12.5 | 11.3 | 20.9 | 62.5 | 42.8 |
7 | 10.3 | 11.1 | 10.9 | 23.7 | 64.1 | 44.5 |
8 | 13.5 | 10.7 | 11.5 | 25.1 | 61.4 | 44.2 |
9 | 13.8 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 22.9 | 63.4 | 44.7 |
10 | 18.2 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 25.6 | 60.9 | 45.7 |
Urban UR | Urban LFPR | |||||
2018–19 | ||||||
1 | 11 | 18.9 | 17.6 | 10.4 | 60.9 | 33.6 |
2 | 23 | 19 | 19.7 | 13.5 | 62.6 | 37.2 |
3 | 17.4 | 19 | 18.7 | 13.5 | 61.7 | 36.6 |
4 | 29 | 22.5 | 23.8 | 14.2 | 58.2 | 36.1 |
5 | 26 | 16.5 | 18.3 | 15.4 | 61.1 | 39.4 |
6 | 28.9 | 15.9 | 18.4 | 16 | 61 | 39.8 |
7 | 38 | 16.7 | 21.4 | 18.9 | 60.2 | 40.6 |
8 | 24.7 | 20 | 21.2 | 23.2 | 56.7 | 41.8 |
9 | 27 | 21.4 | 22.7 | 22.6 | 54.3 | 40.6 |
10 | 24.9 | 16.9 | 19.1 | 27.4 | 51 | 41.2 |
2021–22 | ||||||
1 | 14 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14 | 63.8 | 37.5 |
2 | 17.2 | 14.6 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 58.9 | 36.2 |
3 | 20.2 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 15 | 59 | 36.9 |
4 | 20.4 | 17.2 | 17.9 | 16.7 | 57.4 | 37.6 |
5 | 18.7 | 15.8 | 16.4 | 17 | 57.7 | 37.9 |
6 | 28.6 | 15.9 | 19.1 | 21.5 | 60.2 | 41.6 |
7 | 25.5 | 17.2 | 19.3 | 21.4 | 58.4 | 40.8 |
8 | 22.2 | 16.7 | 18.2 | 24.7 | 54.5 | 41.3 |
9 | 26.8 | 14.3 | 17.3 | 26 | 60.7 | 46.2 |
10 | 18.9 | 14.7 | 16 | 35.6 | 58.9 | 49.1 |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jha, P., Mishra, P. (2024). Youth and Challenges in Contemporary World of Work in India. In: Mitra, A. (eds) Youth in Indian Labour Market. India Studies in Business and Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0379-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0379-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-97-0378-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-97-0379-1
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)