New report reveals growing unemployment among graduates

According to the latest National Sample Survey data, 16.3% of urban males who are graduates and under 29 years of age are unemployed. If certificate and diploma holders are included, the figure rises to 28.8%. Among women, of those who hold at least diplomas, 17.3% of them are unemployed.

The report indicates that the more qualified one becomes, the lesser chances one has of obtaining employment. Further, one in every four men with a graduate degree or a vocational education in this age group is likely to be unemployed in India. More startlingly, fewer women are entering the workforce year after year. Prospects are expected to worsen, as it has been revealed that there will be 8 crore first-time voters in the upcoming general elections who would be ready to enter the job market in about three years’ time and might add to the unemployment rates.

Another recent report released by the National Sample Survey office with estimates of the year 2011-2012 shows that the rate of unemployment among graduates is much higher than that among those with lower educational qualifications. Sunita Sanghi, adviser for Labour in the Planning Commission, said the data showed that skill development programmes and college education were possibly not creating the sort of training that were in demand in the manufacturing and services sector.