Decent Work for Youth in India

Did you know?

Youth: a demographic dividend

  • Almost one in five persons in the world is aged between 15 and 24, the majority living in developing countries.
  • India has the largest youth population in the world; around 66 per cent of the total population (more than 808 million) is below the age of 35.
  • Nearly 40 per cent of the Indian population is aged 13 to 35 years (defined as youth in the National Youth Policy).
  • The median age in India in 2010 was just 25.2 years, compared to 34.5 years in China.
  • The Indian labour force is set to grow by over 8 million per annum over the coming decade, most of which will be driven by youth entering the labour market. This is a major challenge for policymakers in terms of creating decent work for the increasingly educated cohorts.

Good or bad times: youth more vulnerable to unemployment

  • Globally youth are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed. Young women typically experience higher rates of unemployment than men.
  • Young people around the world were hit hardest during the global financial crisis due to their precariousness in the labour market
  • 9.7 per cent of young men and 18.7 per cent of young women in India were unemployed in 2009/10. In comparison, the unemployment rate for Indians aged 30 – 34 reached only 1.2 and 3.4 per cent for men and women, respectively.

Job quality: an even greater challenge

  • Most young people in developing countries such as India cannot afford to remain unemployed for long but, at the same time, struggle to find decent jobs in the formal economy. Consequently, most youth are underemployed and eking out a living in the informal sector.

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Stay tuned for the Youth Employment Event in India!

On 20 April 2012, ILO in partnership with the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India organized an event focusing on youth employment challenges facing the country’s young women and men. Learn more about the event in which more than 170 people, mostly youth participated, by clicking Youth Employment – ‘Decent Work for Youth in India’!
Keep visiting. Updates and material from the event will be posted here after the event