World Bank Cheers: India’s Job Market Races Ahead of Demographic Curve

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India's job market is experiencing strong positive growth, and employment is growing faster than the country’s working-age population, according to the World Bank’s newly released report. This will represent a significant change in the country’s labour market since the fiscal year 2021-22.

The report identifies numerous positive developments:

Employment growth has continued to outpace the working-age population since 2021-22.
One of the key drivers of this growth is the rising participation of women in the workforce; the female employment rate is now at 31%.
Urban unemployment improved significantly during the previous 12 months, dropping to 6.6% in the first quarter of FY24/25, the lowest urban unemployment since FY2017-18.
There was an increase in men migrating from rural work to urban work for the first time since FY2018-19 and more women in rural areas are entering employment in agriculture.
We have also seen an increase in self-employment, especially in rural occupations and among women, indicating a move away from formal employment.

However, the report highlights several areas of ongoing concern:

The youth unemployment rate remains high at 13.3% and the unemployment rate among young people with higher education is even higher. For these students, 29% are still seeking employment.
Only 23% of paid jobs in the non-farm sector are formal jobs with the vast majority of employment in agriculture still informal.
There continues to be gender gaps in opportunities, with 234 million more men in paid employment than women.
There continues to be considerable regional inequalities, as 5 populous states still account for more than half of India’s extreme poor-Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

The World Bank encourages targeted policy responses to improve labour market outcomes, enhance formal employment, and narrow gender gaps, stressing long-term support for reforms and skills development to enhance the quality and quantity of inclusive and sustainable employment growth.

Source: NDTV