Unemployment in India highest among urban youth, says government data

• The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation has released employment data, projecting the unemployment rate at 6.1% in 2017-18.
  
• Joblessness among the educated urban workforce was higher that the uneducated among men and women.
  
• Unemployment rate among young urban jobseekers has been on the rise for three quarters now — which stood at 23.7% in the December quarter of 2018.

As the Modi government enters its second term, unemployment remains the biggest challenge in India.

The latest employment survey has highlighted worrying trends in the job market. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) put out by the National Statistic Office(NSO) has shown that the unemployment rate among young urban jobseekers has been on the rise for three quarters now — which stood at 23.7% in the December quarter of 2018.

According to the figures released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPD), the unemployment rate in India hit 6.1% — proving the disputed NSSO survey to be statistically correct.

On an average, Indian students spend nearly 11 years in formal education. However, the report noted that the country projected higher unemployment rate as the education level increases. While unemployment stood at 2.1% among the illiterate urban men, nearly 9.2% of the men with secondary education were unemployed, the report added.

Moving to the female unemployment rate, the unemployment among the educated women — secondary or higher education — hit 20% in 2017-18.

Overall, the unemployment among urban men stood at 7.8%, while the joblessness was recorded as 5.7% among women.

The official release of the report has reopened the debate on India’s job crisis. The National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) job survey for 2017-18 revealed that the unemployment rate in India is on a 45-year high.

The Finance Ministry released an official statement that said "There can be nothing farther away from the truth than saying that unemployment in India is at a 45 year low," India Today reported.

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