It is a trend that economists and researchers say might continue. The data shows the share of this age group in the net EPF accounts created - a proxy for net new formal jobs created - fell from 37.9 per cent in 2018-19 to 24.1 per cent in 2021-22.
The country's demographic dividend is dissipating, with seriously adverse consequences for young India, asserts Shankar Acharya, former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.
There was no announcement from the government on guaranteeing a minimum basic income, which is the need of the hour. The announcements on portability of ration cards and affordable rental housing to workers are for the long and medium terms. Migrant workers need immediate relief.
However, the government has enacted an important change to the fixed-term employment framework that may help companies in handing out contractual jobs to its existing permanent workforce.
Lower cost and easier termination may well be among the reasons that companies seek to have employees on contract. The share of employees on contract has increased to 57.3 per cent of the total workforce this year as compared to 53.7 per cent in the previous year.
The employment structure of India's organised manufacturing sector has undergone substantial changes over the last decade.
According to NSSO, more than half of India's working-age population is out of labour force. In 2017-18, the youth unemployment rate was in the range 13.6-27.2 per cent.
Labour law changes for three years may not be enough as it takes a couple of years for factories to build and operations at a proper scale start only in the third or fourth year.
The NDA govt launched the Mudra scheme to give unsecured loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to small enterprises with the objective to provide self-employment
'The rise in unemployment, underemployment, discouraged workers and job insecurity is likely to continue, with very adverse consequences for the nation's economic well-being and social cohesion,' warns Shankar Acharya.
T C A Anant, former chief statistician to the government, will soon be heading a panel to decide whether the monthly payroll data released by EPFO, ESIC and PFRDA could replace the quarterly enterprises-based survey on job creation by the labour bureau, the prime minister's office decided last week.
Most employment surveys suffer from drawbacks such as limited data coverage, infrequent data collection, and time lag
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