Joblessness among educated, skilled rose sharply, shows NSSO survey

After recording a fall in 2011-12, the unemployment rate among educated people in the country rose sharply in 2017-18, according to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)'s first periodic labour force survey. 

The unemployment rate for skilled persons almost doubled between 2011-12 and 2017-18, even as the proportion of the people who got vocational or formal training during this period was less. 

The survey showed that the literacy rate went up in 2017-18. More rural people got educated and young female workers spent more years towards attaining formal education than their male counterparts. 

The unemployment rate was much higher for educated ones than those who were not literate or had attained lower level of education — a trend visible in the past decade. The rate for educated persons rose the sharpest among rural men to 10.5 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 3.6 per cent in 2011-12, and 4.4 per cent in 2004-05.  For urban educated men, the rate was more than double: 9.2 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 4 per cent in 2011-12, and 5.1 per cent in 2004-05. 

In urban areas, the unemployment rate among educated women was twice their male counterparts. Their rate went up to a high of 19.8 per cent, from 10.3 per cent in 2011-12 and 15.6 per cent in 2004-05. For rural educated women, it stood at 17.3 per cent in 2017-18, sharply up from 9.7 per cent in 2011-12, and 15.2 per cent in 2004-05. 

The NSSO survey defines a person to be educated if he/she has completed school studies till at least the secondary level (class 9th-10th).

# - self-learning, hereditary, learning on the job and others,Note: An educated person defined as someone who has completed school education till secondary and above level, Source: NSSO

The gross secondary enrolment rate in the 15-16 age group surged to 90 per cent in 2016, from 58 per cent in 2010, Santosh Mehrotra, chairperson at Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University said. “Such persons can afford to remain unemployed, if they are not able to get suitable jobs in the non-agriculture sector. Between 2004-05 and 2011-12, the non-agricultural jobs were growing rapidly, hence, the unemployment rate for educated people was also falling,” Mehrotra said. 

While the share of youth who received formal vocational or technical training rose marginally from 2.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.5 per cent in 2017-18, for all age groups, the share went down from 2.2 per cent to 2 per cent during this period. Apart from this, 2.2 per cent people received vocational training, while learning on the job and another 1.8 per cent through self-learning, according to the report. 

“The minor decline in the share of those who received vocational training is mainly due to higher enrolment in the general education system. But despite a policy push for skill training, the proportion of trained persons is pathetic,” Mehrotra said. 

The unemployment rate for trained persons doubled to 12.4 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 5.9 per cent in 2011-12. The national rate of joblessness stood at 6.1 per cent, according to the survey. But the proportion of women who were employed with a technical training rose to 38.1 per cent in 2017-18, compared to 33.9 per cent in 2011-12. 

"These numbers reflect a combination of demand and supply issues. There are problems in the skills and education architecture. Our skilling programmes are training people in narrow or routine jobs, which will be among the first ones to get automated,” said Radhicka Kapoor, senior fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

The idea should be to impart broad skills set, with more active participation from the private sector so that people adapt to the changing environment, along with a whole range of policy aimed at generating employment-intensive growth, she added.

The share of educated persons (above 15 years) increased in 2017-18, especially in rural areas, according to the survey. The literacy rate (for persons above 7 years of age) also went up from 67.3 per cent in 2004-05 and 74.7 per cent in 2011-12 to 76.9 per cent in 2017-18. 

Urban women workers recorded spending 11.1 years in formal education, more than 10.7 years reported by urban men workers. In rural areas, men spent 8.9 years in formal education, while women spent 8.1 years. Overall, men spent 9.5 years in formal education, compared to 9.2 years by women. However, among youth (age group of 15-29 years), women devoted slightly more time to education (10 years) than men (9.8 per cent).