'Graduate unemployment' among the 15- to 29-year-olds remains high – nearly 40 percent among the 15- to 25-year-olds, and 20 percent among the 25- to 29-year-olds; says a report from the Azim Premji University.
“More young people today are educated, informed, and ambitious than ever before. These are real achievements of which we can be proud,” noted Indu Prasad, President, Azim Premji University.
Between 2004-05 and 2023, while approximately 5 million graduates were added each year, only around 2.8 million found employment, and an even smaller share entered salaried employment,
India has made substantial progress in expanding access to higher education for its young (15- to 29-year-olds) population, ensuring a movement out of agriculture into industry and services, and reduced gender and caste-based disparities, according to the State of Working India 2026 report.
It also claims -- "Only a small share secure stable salaried jobs within a year of graduation. The problem of graduate unemployment has been magnified in recent years owing to the growing size of the graduate population".
Only about 7 per cent of graduates can find permanent salaried employment within a year of reporting themselves as unemployed.
Key findings
Demographic dividend nearing peak:
* India’s working-age population share will begin declining after 2030. The pace of job creation in the coming decades is critical to ensure that the demographic dividend translates into an economic one.
Rising educational attainment:
Youth education levels have increased significantly over four decades, especially among women. India’s tertiary enrolment rate (28 percent) is comparable to countries with similar per capita incomes.
Drop in male tertiary enrolment:
The share of young men in education fell from 38 percent in 2017 to 34 percent in late 2024, with a large share citing the need to support household incomes as reason for their withdrawal.
Other issues:
College availability increased from 29 per lakh youth (2010) to 45 (2021), mainly driven by private institutions. However, regional disparities remain large.
Teacher shortages:
Faculty growth has not matched rising student numbers. Against AICTE norms of 15 – 20 students per teacher, private colleges average 28 and public colleges 47.
Hiring and filling up vacancies remain crucial to ensure that learning outcomes are not compromised due to resource constraints.
Entry-level salaries for young male graduates have slowed in growth since 2011, while gender gaps in graduate earnings have narrowed.
Together with the high incidence of unemployment, there is also a large number of unemployed graduates -- 11 million out of 63 million graduates between the ages of 20 and 29 were unemployed as of 2023.
ends
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