Govt jobs lure younger rural workers, older generations prefer salaried roles

State Rural Youth Employment report by Global Development Incubator (GDI), Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN), and Development Intelligence Unit (DIU). Among rural men aged 18-25, 31% prefer government jobs, while 28% of women in the same age bracket express the same preference. This interest drops significantly to 19% for men and 11% for women in the 26-35 age group.

Read this | Is Uttar Pradesh stuck with low women's participation in its labour force? The report noted that rural youth, in general, show a strong inclination towards salaried jobs, with minimal interest in entrepreneurship or running a business. According to the 2022-23 Periodic Labour Force Survey, only 14% of men and 8% of women in the rural workforce are regular wage or salaried workers. This is in stark contrast to urban areas, where 47% of men and 51% of women hold such positions.

More here | Finding jobs: What surveys tell us about India’s biggest puzzle For those seeking to re-enter the paid workforce, 73% of men and 77% of women prefer salaried jobs, with a slight preference among women for private sector positions. However, this trend shifts among first-time job seekers, where 76% of men seek salaried jobs compared to just 50% of women. Notably, self-employment is a significant preference among older women.

The aspirations of first-time female job seekers vary by age. Approximately 30% of women aged 18-25 prefer salaried government jobs, a figure that plummets to 6.6% among those aged 26-35. Conversely, only 16.2% of younger women favour self-employment, while this preference jumps to 32.5% among older women.