Are they both-Unemployment & Joblessness- the same or there is little difference, in the complete analysis of the unemployment rate, its measures, its reasons, the population's response, and its overall impact on economic growth? This topic is a complete package of the economic and political situation of the country.

What is Unemployment?

In simple terms, unemployment refers to the act of not being in a job, i.e. a person is available to take the job but not getting the job. The person must be out of work and also looking for a job but not getting the job matching their skill will fall in the category of unemployment.

Now unemployment is directly related to economic growth.

According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), there are three statuses of an individual.

• Working
• Unemployed
• Jobless

Now let us discuss them briefly:

Working or Employed: Engaged in any economic activity and getting paid for it. This may also include a person doing work and getting wages for the work.

Unemployed:  An individual seeking work or available to do the work but unable to get the one. In other terms, it may also include a person or an individual not getting work related to their skill.

Jobless: Neither seeking nor available for work. This may include retired people, homemakers, etc.

Thus, joblessness is a subset of unemployment.

According to the data released in 2020 the median age of the Indian population was 28.4 years. It refers to the age which is the average of the population available to work.

The periodic labour force survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2023:

This survey concluded that the total unemployment rate has dropped and it is the lowest in the previous three years.

But is it correct to say that it is the lowest in three years? We can say that the population has also increased in three years but the data remains the same.

Now here comes the concept of Employment elasticity.

This concept refers to the position or ability of the economy to generate employment as a percent of its growth process.

Recent trends in the data related to unemployment in India:

Before moving forward on the trends let us first understand how the unemployment rate is calculated in India

Unemployment rate = (No. of unemployed persons / Civilian labour force) x 100

 According to the data published by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy:

•  In January 2024 the unemployment rate stood at 6.8%
• This indicates the decrease in rate from December 2023 and this decrease is 1.9%.
•  Previously in December 2023 this rate was 8.7%.

As per the data, the top five Indian states with the highest unemployment rate (in 2023) are:

• Haryana                            37.4%
• Rajasthan                         28.5%
• Bihar                                19.1%
• Jharkhand                         18%
• Jammu and Kashmir       14.8%

Reasons for the Unemployment in India:

1.      Skill mismatch

2.      Oversized population

3.      Low investment in the manufacturing sector

4.      Regional disparity

5.      Mushrooming of educational institutions

6.      Lack of skill development in education

7.      Inadequate or less support of the state and also the legal complexities.

The above-mentioned causes contribute to an increase in the unemployment rate, Let us discuss them briefly:

• With skill mismatch and lack of skill development in education, an individual may get adequate literacy but it does not provide an individual with the job. For instance, in the current scenario, AI and Machine Learning are in demand and can be considered a top-priority skill, but very few of the skilled population in equipped with it.
• This is complimented by the large number of educational institutions that provide degrees but add up to few skills or no skills to the youth.
• Oversized population plays a significant role in increasing the rate of unemployment in India. It is a burden to the economy and adds up to the liability of the government to sustain this population.
• Regional disparity is another factor for adds up to the unemployment rate in the country. It means a lack of technological advancements or a lack of industries or manufacturing in some regions of the country. For instance in Jammu and Kashmir only a few industries lead to high unemployment and the youth has to look to the government sector.

Whether Home-Makers are unemployed?

The home is never treated as unemployed rather they add up to the financial earnings of the family. They may be jobseekers or jobless in that case they are not paid for their work but they are doing their work 365 days a year so, it is not correct to fully consider them unemployed.

Unemployment is not synonymous with joblessness.

Being unemployed means not getting a job and actively seeking the same. The cause may be any but the important point to note is that an individual is not getting work.

On the other hand, joblessness may be due to any reason, say it if an individual is retired, a homemaker, a student, or a skilled unprofessional. So we cannot completely relate unemployment with joblessness.

Lets Analyse:

• Working on the latest skills rather than traditional education setup.
• Policymakers need to frame the latest policy related to current and futuristic skill setups.
• Skill India and Make in India must be provided with a great boost and more infrastructure development and its reach must be increased to improve the skill mismatch.
• Start-up culture must be advanced along with more funding schemes in addition to present funding schemes.
• One of the important ways to tackle the unemployment issue is that job seekers must become job-providers so that the burden of unemployment can be little relieved from the government’s side. The large size of the population needed to be sustained with better jobs.
• Understanding of the Indian and foreign markets. Manufacturing related to the needs of the Indian market and foreign market must be studied and the government’s support related to tax and other funding needed to be improved.