New Delhi: The deprived section of society also lags behind in terms of job opportunities. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) report, whether individuals belong to the backward class or are economically disadvantaged, they remain marginalized in terms of employment prospects. ILO released India Employment Report 2024, Youth employment, education and skills on Tuesday, March 26.
The report indicates that unemployment rates are significantly elevated among youths belonging to marginalized social groups, such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, when compared to Other Backward Classes and the General Category castes. This discrepancy underscores the intersection of social groups and unemployment, revealing that individuals from historically marginalized communities encounter more challenging barriers to employment, even with a considerable level of education.
Wealthier people have less unemployment rates
Unemployment rates among highly educated youths from lower-income families are a particular cause for concern because they face equal or even higher unemployment rates than their counterparts from higher-income families.
In 2022, the unemployment rate among youths with a graduate degree or higher in the lowest monthly per capita expenditure quintile was almost equal to that of similar youths in the highest quintile (at 11.5 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively). The unemployment rate among youths with a secondary or higher-secondary education in the lowest monthly per capita expenditure quintile (at 29.4 per cent) was higher than what it was for similar youths in the highest quintile (at 25.8 per cent).
The report says that unemployment rates among youths showed a disturbing trend, increasing as the level of education rises, with the highest rates among youths with a graduate or technical training degree. In particular, the concern is the disproportionately higher unemployment rate among youths with a technical degree or diploma, which has surpassed even the rate among youths with a general graduate degree.
According to data presented in the report, among the young population, a substantial percentage of individuals aged 15–19 were mainly pursuing education, while those aged 25–29 were significantly more engaged in economic activities. In 2022, for instance, approximately 72.4 per cent of youths aged 15–19 were pursuing education, while only 23.5 per cent in the age group of 20–24 and a mere 2.3 percent in the age group of 25–29 were doing so. Conversely, only around 15.2 per cent of youths aged 15–19 engaged in economic activities, compared with 40.2 per cent of youths aged 20–24 and 58.6 per cent of those aged 25–29.
Female youth engaged in domestic duties
If we talk about the data for women, young women mainly engaged in domestic duties, whereas male youths were more involved in economic activities and also pursuing education. In 2022, about 45.1 per cent of female youths engaged in domestic duties, whereas only 0.5 per cent of male youths were involved in domestic duties.
In numbers, 79.1 million young women engaged in domestic duties, compared with only 1 million men. This phenomenon was more typical among youths living in rural areas than those in urban areas. And 53.5 per cent of young men were involved in economic activities, compared with only 19.1 per cent of young women.
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