6.1 million youth may lose jobs in India due to Covid-19: ADB-ILO report

Unemployment rate in the country will rise to a staggering 32.5 per cent, but will be higher in Sri Lanka at 37.8 per cent

As many as 6.1 million young people (15-24 years) may lose jobs in India in 2020 if the containment of the virus takes six months (roughly till September), says a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Labour Organisation (ILO). 

India will be followed by Pakisan, which will see 2.3 million youth losing jobs, said the report, titled 'Tackling the Covid-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific', released on Tuesday.

Overall, 14.8 million younsters will suffer job cuts in 13 countries in the region. 

The unemployment rate in India will rise to as much as 32.5 per cent, but it will be higher in Sri Lanka, at 37.8 per cent. 

Construction and farm sector workers account for the majority of job losses, according to the report.  

Employment prospects of the young in Asia and the Pacific have been severely challenged due to the pandemic, it added, stating that the youth (15–24 years) will be hit harder than adults (25 and older) in the immediate crisis.

The report is based on a regional assessment by the 'Global Survey on Youth and Covid-19', whose estimates were arrived at based on available unemployment data in different countries.

The report said that in India, two-thirds of firm-level apprenticeships and three quarters of internships were completely disrupted during the pandemic.

The report calls on governments in the region to adopt urgent, large-scale and targeted measures to generate jobs for the youth, keep education and training on track, and minimise future scarring of more than 660 million young people in the region.

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, youth in Asia and the Pacific faced challenges in the labour market, resulting in high unemployment rates and large shares of youth excluded from both school and work.