Unemployment in India


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Unemployment in India

Unemployment: Unemployment exists when people who are willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs. The workforce includes all people from the age of 15 years to 59 years. Children and elderly people (60 years and over) are not included, so they will not be considered as unemployed. As Sakal’s mother Sheela is unwilling to work outside her home for payment, she also cannot be called unemployed.

Nature of Unemployment in India: In the case of India, there is unemployment in both rural and urban areas. However, the nature of employment differs between the two areas. In rural areas, there is seasonal and disguised unemployment. Urban areas have mostly educated unemployment.

Seasonal Unemployment: Seasonal unemployment happens when people are not able to find jobs during some months of the year. These are people dependent upon agriculture. There are certain busy seasons when sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing are done, while other months do not provide much work.

Disguised Unemployment: In disguised unemployment, all the people appear to be employed, but the work requires less number of persons and so the unemployment is disguised. This is typical for the small farmer, where the entire family is working on his plot, although all may not be required to do so.

Educated Unemployment: In urban areas, educated unemployment is a common phenomenon. Many youth with matriculation, graduation and post-graduation degrees are not able to find jobs. According to a study, the unemployment of graduates and post-graduates has increased faster than matriculates. A paradoxical manpower situation is observed when surplus of manpower in certain categories co-exists with shortage of manpower in others.

Effects of Unemployment:

·   Unemployment leads to the wastage of manpower resource. People who can be an asset for the economy turn into a liability.

·    Feeling of hopelessness and despair occurs among the youth. People do not have enough money to support their family.

·   Inability of educated people, willing to work to find gainful employment, implies a great social waste.

·   Unemployment tends to increase economic overload.

·   The dependence of the unemployed on the working population increases.

·   The quality of life of an individual as well as of society is adversely affected.

·   There is a general decline in health status and rising withdrawal from the school system.

Hence, unemployment has a harmful impact on the overall growth of an economy. Increase in unemployment is an indicator of a depressed economy. It also wastes the resource which could have been gainfully employed. Although statistically, the unemployment in India seems low, with people in low productivity and low income jobs also being counted as fully employed. They are working only because they cannot afford to sit idle. Thus, this kind of employment maintains them at a bare subsistence level

 
 


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