India's unemployment went down by 2.3% in 3 years, but only for graduates

In a country of 140 crore, little more than 10 per cent Indians hold a graduate degree, while unemployment jumped to 7.45 per cent in February 2023. Almost 90 per cent workers are employed in the informal sector, thousands of degree holders apply for roles which they are overqualified for.

At the same time, the unemployment rate among graduate degree holders has been declining since 2019.

What the numbers say about graduates in India

• According to Periodic Labour Force Survey data revealed by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, it went from 17.2 per cent in FY20 to 14.9 per cent in FY22.

• The minister also mentioned initiatives such as online job search, career counselling and matching jobs for candidates, apart from skill development.

• The services will be crucial especially after 81,000 graduates including PhD holders applied for 62 peon positions in UP Police force in 2018.

• More recently in 2021, PhD holders and post-graduates also applied for the role of peons in Himachal Pradesh.

Need for employable skills despite degrees?

• In 2020, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Punjab National Bank firing a peon who was overqualified and was hiding his degree to get the job.

• Among employment schemes, the government has also launched a scheme to provide additional skills to those already pursuing a degree, so that they can be employable.

• This is needed because as per World Economic Forum's data, only one in 10 Indian graduates are employable.

• It further shows that one out of five engineers and one in four MBAs are fit for any kind of a job.