India’s young are more educated than ever. So why are so many jobless?
India’s youth story is a study in contradictions — of abundance and scarcity, promise and drift, writes Soutik Biswas, in BBC.
Soutik Biswas is India Correspondent, BBC.
Read the State of Working India 2026 report here:
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Abstract
Youth in the Labour Market: Pathways from Learning to Earning
India is nearing the peak of its demographic dividend, with the share of the working-age population expected to begin declining after 2030. On the one hand, higher education in the country has become increasingly democratised with a rapid increase in the number of institutions. Graduate salaried earnings exceed non-graduates both at the time of entry into employment and over their lifetime. On the other hand, financial barriers continue to restrict access, particularly in professional fields such as engineering and medicine. The transition from education to employment remains a major challenge. The rise in the number of graduates has not been matched by commensurate growth in graduate employment. This year’s State of Working India report traces the arc of a young worker’s transition from school or college into employment, and how this has changed in the last forty years.
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