The other 'NEET' that India needs to address, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• Recent youth protests have brought focus on unemployment, particularly among young people.
• Official data from Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) indicates the overall Unemployment Rate (UER) for those aged 15 and above fell to 3.1% in 2025.
• Youth unemployment (15-29 years) remains high at around 10%, with graduates aged 25 facing nearly 40% unemployment.
• The State of Working India (SWI) 2026 report by Azim Premji University highlights that graduate unemployment in 2023 was higher than in 1983.
• NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) is introduced as a more comprehensive metric for youth labour under-utilisation.
• Approximately 25% of Indian youth were NEET in March, translating to about 9.2 crore youth in 2026, nearly equal to Iran's population.

Detailed Insights:

• The official Unemployment Rate (UER) measures those actively seeking work, which can be misleading in India due to under-reporting.
• While the workforce has grown, most new jobs since 2017-18 are concentrated in agriculture or low-paying sectors, raising concerns about job quality.
• Women's workforce participation has increased, but a significant portion is in low-earning self-employment, indicating stagnant earnings.
• Many potential workers, especially women, are not counted in the labour force due to social norms or discouragement, leading to an underestimation of unemployment.
• The NEET metric provides a broader understanding by including those of working age who are neither employed, in education, nor undergoing training.
• India's youth population is projected to be 36.8 crore in 2026, making the high absolute number of NEET youth a significant socio-economic challenge.
• The substantial NEET population may contribute to growing youth unrest, despite the government's positive assessment of economic growth based on GDP figures.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Unemployment Rate (UER): The percentage of the labour force that is unemployed but actively seeking work.
• Labour Force: Comprises individuals who are either employed or unemployed but actively looking for work.
• NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training): A metric that identifies young people who are neither employed, in education, nor undergoing any form of training.
• Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): A large-scale household survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to estimate employment and unemployment indicators.
• State of Working India (SWI) report: An annual report by Azim Premji University that analyzes the state of employment and labour markets in India.