While it is encouraging to know that unemployment has declined across all educational levels since the pandemic, it is discouraging to learn that 42.5% of educated graduates and above in the under-25 age group are still without a job. Graduates experience unemployment rates of over 15%, compared to the two to 3% experienced by those with less education.
The age range of 25 to 20 is represented by about 22.8% of those who at least have a bachelor’s degree. 9.8% of respondents fall into the 30 to 34 age range, while 4.5% are in the 35 to 39 age range. 1.6% of the unemployed who have a graduate degree or higher are over 40. Therefore, it is evident from the State of Working India 2023 report that open unemployment among Indian youth with college degrees is still high.
For educated youth under the age of 25, the unemployment rate rises to over 40%; for graduates aged 35 and older, it falls to less than 5%. That means that, in the end, graduates do manage to land jobs, but it is questionable whether the jobs they land or whether these positions truly match their skills and interests.
About 21.4% of young people who have completed their higher education but are unemployed are under the age of 25, compared to 2.1% of people who have completed their higher education but are unemployed who are 40 years of age or older.
Among the illiterate, those under the age of 25 make up 13.5% of the unemployed, while those over the age of 40 make up 2.4%.
According to the Azim Premji University report, the majority of women are still not employed, which is both unsurprising and disappointing. When compared to other developing nations, India’s states consistently perform poorly when it comes to the percentage of women who are in the labour force.
