NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

SUBSCRIBE AND SUPPORT

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Grievance Redressal Mechanism
Newsletter
Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick Instagram - Newsclick Youtube - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
You deserve independent, critical media. Subscribe and Support
Politics
India

Unemployment at Nearly 10%, Among Youth It’s 28%

The ongoing economic slowdown will increase joblessness further as not only are jobs being lost, no new jobs are being created.
Subodh Varma
29 Sep 2019
Unemployment

While some leaders of the present government are blithely going about giving the world supposed lessons on how to govern, as Narendra Modi did at the UN General Assembly, and some others are busy handing out concessions to domestic and foreign corporates, the people in India are getting strangled by ever increasing joblessness, compounded by job losses due to the ongoing economic slowdown.

The latest figures released by the CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) estimate that the number of unemployed continues to relentlessly rise, reaching 4.5 crore by August end, up 1.1 crore over last year and by 2 crore in two years. [See chart below] This is for all those jobless people who are willing to work, whether actively seeking jobs or not. Weekly estimates point to an unemployment rate nearing a record 10% mark – 9.94% to be precise, as of September 27.

No%20of%20Jobs.png

Among the unemployed, youth between 20 to 29 years of age number just over three crore. That’s a staggering jump of 73% in the past two years. [See chart below] So, youth unemployment is currently at 28%. Much is made of the so-called demographic dividend, that is, the existence of a large population in the productive age group. But it is being tragically frittered away if nearly a third of them are sitting idle, with no job prospects in sight.

jobless%20youth.png

Among women, India had always had a very poor record of job opportunities, with women’s participation in work at abysmal levels. But in the current situation of distress, women’s joblessness, too, has steadily worsened, with the latest CMIE estimates pegging it at just over 27%, up from nearly 22% last year and about 17% in 2017. [See chart below]

Women's%20Unemployment.png

As you may have noticed, the Modi government has not announced any measure for improving job creation. They think that giving easy bank loans, giving tax breaks and bail-outs to corporate bodies will somehow translate into more jobs. However, other data from CMIE shows that for 2018-19, corporate net profits grew at a healthy 22.3% and yet there was no significant additional job creation. Corporate houses are not interested in expanding production – they are more interested in dividends. 

But the fact remains that capacity utilisation in industries is at a low of around 75%, sales revenues are dropping across the board, bank credit is growing very slowly and wages are stagnating. 

In fact, low wage growth in all sectors – agriculture, industry and services – coupled with low prices for farmers’ produce and a tight-fisted public expenditure policy all mean that the government is singularly failing to put money into the hands of the people. So, the possibility of a revival of the economy is bleak in the near future.

This will have catastrophic consequences on the jobs front. An already dire jobs situation is bound to worsen further. 

The other, hidden part of the unemployment problem is under-employment, that is, people working on low paying jobs in the absence of better jobs. This is the reason why CMIE data also shows that 1.13 crore graduates are unemployed. That’s 17.4% of all graduates – the highest rate of unemployment among all educational categories. They are unable to find jobs suitable to their qualifications, which is bizarrely described by some apologists as a situation of ‘shortage’ of labour. Some estimates put such under-employed workforce at as much as 30-35% of all employed.

The Modi government spent its first five years tinkering around with various schemes and programmes, sometimes stressing skilling programmes, sometimes emphasising entrepreneurship development through bank loans. All that failed. Now, in its new five-year term, it has simply buried its head in sand, pretending that the jobs crisis does not even exist. This indicates a period of intensifying crisis in the coming months, which is sure to find reflection in the political arena too.

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
unemployment rate
Jobs Crisis
CMIE data
Women’s Unemployment
Modi government
Wage Stagnation
Jobless Youth
Related Stories
Bihar: Opposition Boycotts Monsoon Session As Speaker Disallows the Adjournment Motion on Agnipath

Bihar: Opp Boycotts Monsoon Session as Speaker Disallows Adjournment Motion on Agnipath

Over 2200 Citizens Condemn Arrest of Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar by Gujarat Police

Over 2200 Citizens Condemn Arrest of Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar by Gujarat Police

Coal

Modi Govt’s Coal Mining Expansion Spree Keeps Local Communities Away from Decision-making

Central Trade Unions Join Call to Withdraw Agnipath as Protests Intensify

Central Trade Unions Join Call to Withdraw Agnipath as Protests Intensify

army

Army Veterans Slam Central Government's Agnipath Scheme

agneepath br

Bihar: Youth Protests Continue Against the Agnipath Scheme

Kashmir

Only Statehood, Election, Indo-Pak Dialogue can Improve J&K Situation—Radha Kumar

Economic Crisis in India

Indian Economy is on the Road to a Stable State of Zero Growth

child labour

Number of Child Labourers in West Bengal Rise After Pandemic

COAL

PCPSPS Demands Independent Probe Into Coal Crisis

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
You deserve independent, critical media. We want readers like you. Support independent, critical media. Subscribe to Newsclick.

Subscribe and Support


Latest

  • sfi

    WB: SFI Calls for Rallies Against NEP Throughout Eastern India

  • TN: Students Accuse Central University of Suppressing Dissenting Voices, Favouring Right-WIng Activism

    TN: Students Accuse Central University of Suppressing Dissent, Favouring Right-Wing Activism

  • nupur sharma

    Nupur Sharma Single-Handedly Responsible for What’s Happening in Country: SC

  • Gig

    India's Gig Economy to Expand to 2.35 Crore Workers by 2029-30: Niti Aayog

  • Load More
Newsletter
About us
Grievance Redressal Mechanism