India's workforce paradox

The India Employment Report 2024 highlights rising unemployment among educated youth alongside declining labour force participation rate-reflecting the urge for addressing skill mismatches and ensuring gender pay parity

- SHOVANLAL CHAKRABORTY

The India Employment Report 2024 has revealed a soaring unemployment rate over the past two decades. The rate increased from 2.1 per cent in 2012 to 5.8 per cent in 2019, with a marginal decline to 4.1 per cent in 2022. From 2000 to 2022, the labour force participation came down from 61.6 per cent to 55.2 per cent. Similar trends were observed in the workforce participation rates. Consequently, the number of unemployed persons aged 15 or above, both in rural and urban areas, increased from 92 lakh in 2000 to 2.9 crore in 2019. A decadal comparison (2012 to 2022) shows that there was a rise of 1.25 crore unemployed people — from 1.04 crore in 2012 to 2.29 crore in 2022. On an annual basis, 70-80 lakh youth are added to the workforce; their productive engagement could help India reap the demographic dividend.