Employment Landscape in India

Why in News?

Recently, according to various employment reports, there is a changing landscape of employment in India.

India Employment Report, 2024

• Published by -The International Labour Organization and the Institute for Human Development.
• Findings of the report - The youth account for 83% of India’s unemployed population.
• The share of unemployed individuals with secondary or higher education has nearly doubled over two decades.
• Large portion in informal sector – 90% of employment is informal, with the proportion of salaried, regular jobs declining since 2018.
• Rise in contractual employment – While contractual employment has grown, concerns about job security and social welfare remain unresolved.
• Lack of technical skills – Many young Indians struggle with technical skills.
• 75% of young people struggle with basic digital tasks such as sending an email with an attachment.
• Over 60% cannot perform simple file operations such as copy-pasting.
• 90% lack fundamental spreadsheet skills such as working with formulas.

Report of EPFO

• Decline in net enrolments – The decline in net new EPFO enrolments post-2019 reflected the pandemic effect on formal employment.
• Increase in formal workforce – The March 2025 data show a steady increase in formal workforce participation.
• New enrolments – Young professionals, particularly fresh graduates, constitute a significant portion of new enrolments.

The 18-25 age group consistently represents a large share, with the 18-21 subgroup alone accounting for around 18%- 22% of the total new subscribers in the recent months.

• Towards formalisation – The trend signals a push towards formalisation.

Findings of Economic survey 2023-24

• Crisis of employability – The issue goes beyond unemployment; this is a crisis of unemployability.
• Job ready graduates – only about half of India’s youth are deemed job-ready after graduation.
• Lack of skills – One in two lacks the digital and professional skills employers’ demand, particularly in an economy undergoing rapid technological transformation.
• Influence of AI – The looming influence of AI threatens India’s tech sector, putting several traditional job roles at the risk of displacement.

The Future of Jobs Report 2025

• Published by – the World Economic Forum forecasts major shifts in employment dynamics
• Creation of new jobs – By 2030, an estimated 170 million new jobs will be created representing 14% of total employment.
• Displacement of jobs – 92 million existing jobs (8% of total employment) will be displaced.
• New growth of jobs – There will knew growth of 78 million jobs, or a 7% increase in total employment.

Measures to be taken

• Bridging the skill gap to ensure that India’s workforce is adequately prepared for the evolving job landscape.
• Increasing investments – Investing in education, vocational training, and digital literacy is essential for aligning the workforce with future job demands.
• Clear analysis – A deeper analysis of job stability, wages, and long-term financial security.
• Collaborations – There should be stronger collaboration between industry and academia, if necessary, by law.
• Each higher education institution must ideally have at least one formal partnership with industry partners.
• Accountability for jobs – Educational institutions need to be held accountable for placements and not just educational degrees.
• Accreditation system – To create accreditation systems for educational institutions aligned with job placements for the outgoing students.
• Idea Labs and Tinker Labs – It should be made mandatory components of every high school and higher education institution.
• Integration of subjects – The integration of the humanities, foreign language learning, and soft skills should be made mandatory across all levels of education.
• Indian Education service – An Indian Education Services, similar in stature to the Indian Administrative Services, should be established.
• It would attract the best minds into the education sector.
• Open to professionals - The education system should open its doors to professionals from the industry.
• This would help bridge the gap between theory and application.
• Redesigning of training programs – Skilling and training programs should be designed to meet the needs of ageing societies in many Western nations, where the demand for young professionals is expected to increase.
• This approach aligns with the Indian government’s strategy for enhancing the international mobility of skilled workers.
• Link4Skills project - The Project of the European Union, which utilises the migration corridor framework to evaluate the skill demands and labour shortages in various European countries and beyond.
• The International Institute of Migration and Development is currently working as the Indian partner in the

Reference

The Hindu| Changing landscape of employment in India