India’s jobs crisis: How dreams of rural youth outpace the labour market
Also Read: In charts: Big shifts in India’s jobs market in last 40 years Since the youth prefer the stability of salaried employment, and also show a desire to find such opportunities in or around their village, it’s important to bring the economy to the people and create opportunities for aspirational migration, the report said. India’s rural labour market is still dominated by agriculture, employing 49% of male workers and 76% of the female workers, according to the government’s 2022-23 Periodic Labour Force Survey.
Moreover, the opportunities for regular wage or salaried jobs are minuscule, as only 14% of men and 8% of women in the workforce have such employment. The survey interviewed 5,169 youth who were unemployed, unemployed, underemployed, or not taking any form of education or skilling programmes.
Among the previously-employed rural youth (18-35 years) looking to re-enter the paid workforce, 73% of men and 77% of women prefer salaried jobs, the survey found. Running a small manufacturing or retail trading firm is a distant second, with 17% of men and 13% of women showing inclination.
Also Read: Why low unemployment rate hides the full picture For any developing economy, a shift from agricultural jobs to manufacturing and services is crucial. Over the years, the structural shift has happened, with the share of the non-farm sector between 1983 and 2019 rising by 20 percentage points, the ‘State of Working India 2023’ report by Azim Premji University noted.
However, the shift may not have yielded the desired results: the exit from agriculture led to an increased share in construction for men, while it meant an exit from the workforce altogether for women. Furthermore, the rural youth engaged in farming do not find
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