UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA

Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find
work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy. The most
frequently cited measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate. This is the number of
unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labour force.

Unemployment in India is a major social issue and unemployment records in India are kept by
the Ministry of Labour and Employment As per the constitution of India, the responsibility to
provide proper gainful employment lies with the state. As of September 2018, India had 31
million jobless people.

Statistics
According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, the unemployment rate was at
an all-time high of 6.1 percent in 2017-18. The report also says that male youth had an
unemployment rate of 17.4 percent and 18.7 percent in rural and urban areas, while women
youth had rates of 13.6 percent and 27.2 percent respectively in 2017-18. However the think tank
of Government of India, NITI Aayog says that these are not official and the data is not yet
verified.[3] The employees in the country are estimated to grow by 8 million per annum for the
next decade and a half, which is a little part of the job requirements in the economy, with a lot of
workforce still finding employment
Union Ministry for Labour and Employment claimed national unemployment hovers around 3.7
percent in 2015-16.. 77 percent of the families reportedly have no regular wage earner and more
than 67 percent have income less than 11,000 per month. Around 58 percent of unemployed
graduates and 62 percent of unemployed post graduates cited non-availability of jobs matching
with education/skill and experience as the main reason for unemployment. As per the National
Skill Development Mission Document, as much as 97 percent of the workforce in India has not
undergone formal skill training. About 76 percent of the households did not benefit from
employment generating schemes like MGNREGA, PMEGP, SGSY, SJSRY, etc.
According to India Skills Report launched in the 3rd CII National Conference on Skill
Development, 96 percent were found unemployable out of 100,000 candidates. The Report not
only captured the skill levels of talent pool but also brought out the hiring estimates across major
Industry sectors in the country. The report also brings out a general trend amongst the employers
to look for skills rather than qualifications in candidates. According to NSS (66th Round) Report
from Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India published on
2013.
In January 2019 the Indian government announced that the labour bureau job report would be
replaced by the National Sample Survey Office periodic labour force survey. News reports
suggest that the most recent labour bureau job report had been approved in December 2018, but
its publication was withheld by the government.[9] Later in January 2019, two of the four
members of the National Statistical Commission resigned because of alleged suppression of
employment survey data.[10]
Many would argue that the core objective behind education is to gainful employability. They are
not far from the truth. Indeed, many organizations that evaluate the return on investment in
education do so on the basis of the employability quotient.
The data with regard to India is, unfortunately, quite alarming. According to the International
Labour Organisation (ILO), India will again see its unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent in
2018 and 2019, the same which was seen in 2017 and 2016.
According to the latest data, there will be 18.9 million jobless people in India next year a little
more than 18.6 million for 2018.

According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an economics and business

think-tank, as of 2018, unemployment in India had risen to 31 million individuals looking for
jobs. The lowest unemployment rate in India was 3.4% (July 2017) but has now risen to 7.1%.

CAUSES OF UMEMPLOYMENT

1. Defective education: 

The day-to-day education is very defective and is confirmed within the class room only. Its main aim is to
acquire certificated only. The present educational system is not job oriented, it is degree oriented. It is
defective on the ground that is more general then the vocational. Thus, the people who have getting general
education are unable to do any work. They are to be called as good for nothing in the ground that they cannot
have any job here, they can find the ways of self employment. It leads to unemployment as well as
underemployment. 

2. Increased population growth

Increases in population have been considerable over the half century. The country’s overall
population is made up of more than 1.3 billion people, second only to that of China. Moreover,
India’s population is predicted to exceed China’s by the year 2024; it will, furthermore, probably
be the most populous country for the entirety of the 21st century. As the country’s economic
growth cannot keep up with population growth, this leads to a larger share of the society being
unemployed.

3. Slow economic growth

Because the Indian economy is relatively underdeveloped, economic growth is considerably
slower than it might otherwise be. This means that as the population increases, the economy
cannot keep up with demands for employment and an increasing share of people are unable to
find work. The result is insufficient levels of employment nationwide.
4. Inadequate Employment Planning

The employment planning of the government is not adequate in comparison to population

growth. In India near about two lakh people are added yearly to our existing population. But the
employment opportunities did not increase according to the proportionate rate of population
growth. As a consequence, a great difference is visible between the job opportunities and
population growth. On the other hand it is a very difficult task on the part of the Government to
provide adequate job facilities to all the people. Besides this, the government also does not take
adequate step in this direction. The faulty employment planning of the Government expedites
this problem to a great extent. As a result the problem of unemployment is increasing day by
day.

5. Seasonality of agricultural occupations

Agriculture offers unemployment for a large segment of the population, but only for several
months out of the year. The result is that for a considerable portion of the year, many agricultural
workers lack needed employment and income. More stable sources of income are essential to
permit fulfillment of basic needs.

Steps taken by the Government

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005
The Government of India has taken several steps to decrease the unemployment rates like
launching the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which
guarantees a 100-day employment to an unemployed person in a year. It has implemented it in
200 of the districts and further will be expanded to 600 districts. In exchange for working under
this scheme the person is paid 150 per day.[citation needed]
Apart from Employment Exchange, the Government of India publishes a weekly newspaper
titled Employment News. It comes out every Saturday evening and gives detailed information
about vacancies for government jobs across India. Along with the list of vacancies, it also has the
notifications for various government exams and recruitment procedures for government jobs.
National Career Service Scheme
The Government of India has initiated National Career Service Scheme whereby a web portal
named National Career Service Portal (www.ncs.gov.in) has been launched by the Ministry of
Labour and Employment (India). Through this portal, job-seekers and employers can avail the
facility of a common platform for seeking and updating job information. Not only private
vacancies, contractual jobs available in the government sector are also available on the portal.
The unemployment rate at all India level stood at 3.8 per cent while in rural and urban areas it was 3.4
per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Unemployment rate is more in urban areas than in rural areas as in
urban areas educated unemployed are more in numbers and also in urban areas it requires some
vocational training or technical skill to do a job as compared to rural areas. Urban unemployment is that
unemployment which exit in urban areas. It is not only painful at personal level but also at social level.