Youth unemployment crisis

Notes

• PLFS 2025 reports 14.8% unemployment among 18-29 year-olds.
• Unemployment rate for tertiary-educated youth is 29.4%.
• 40.1% of tertiary-educated youth are classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training).
• 74.7% of tertiary-educated young women who are NEET are outside the labour force.
• 15.4% of Indian households have at least one tertiary-educated young adult (18-29).
• 20.8% of households with tertiary-educated youth are supporting at least one unemployed graduate.
• Households with unemployed educated youth spend ₹1,087 less per month on consumption than those without.
• Households with unemployed educated youth have an average of 1.5 earners, compared to 2.0 in other households.
• 62.5% of households supporting an unemployed graduate lack a regular salaried job.
• 58% of unemployed tertiary-educated youth have been searching for work for over a year; 28.9% for over two years.
• Current employment policy focuses on individual-level interventions like skilling and apprenticeships, often ignoring the household economic burden of prolonged job searches.

Part of a longer story

This is day 11 of 17 in Challenges in Indian Higher Education and Graduate Employability, which has been running since 22 June 2026. Reading it whole is usually worth more than reading today alone — the exam asks how something developed.

• Female Labour Force Participation Trends Before
• Congress criticism of Modi government After
• The whole story 17 entries