“UNEMPLOYMENT AS A

CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL
PROBLEM IN INDIA”

BY – MEHUL SOLANKI SEMESTER – VI

SUBJECT – SOCIOLOGY
&
SAJAL SINGH THAKUR
 INTRODUCTION

• UNEMPLOYMENT: UNEMPLOYMENT REFERS TO THE SITUATION WHERE

INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO WORK ARE UNABLE TO
FIND SUITABLE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
• IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM:
UNEMPLOYMENT AFFECTS INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND
THE OVERALL ECONOMY. IT LEADS TO POVERTY, SOCIAL UNREST, AND
ECONOMIC INSTABILITY.
 TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

• 1. DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT (HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT):

• DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT IS A SITUATION WHERE THE NUMBER OF WORKERS
ENGAGED IN WORK IS MORE THAN REQUIRED.
• ANOTHER NAME FOR DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT IS HIDDEN
UNEMPLOYMENT.
• FOR INSTANCE, IF FIVE PEOPLE ARE WORKING ON THE SAME TASK BUT ONLY
TWO WORKERS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE JOB, THEN THREE PEOPLE ARE
DISGUISED AS UNEMPLOYED.
• 2. SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT:
• SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE TYPE OF UNEMPLOYMENT THAT
OCCURS AT CERTAIN SEASONS OF THE YEAR. IN INDIA, SEASONAL
UNEMPLOYMENT IS PREDOMINATELY RELATED TO AGRICULTURE.
• IN AGRICULTURE, WORK IS SEASONAL, AND THE FARMERS DO NOT
HAVE WORK TO DO ON THE FARMS FOR ALL MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
 3. OPEN UNEMPLOYMENT
• THE ECONOMIC PHENOMENON IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE ABLE AND WILLING TO
WORK AT THE EXISTING WAGE RATE BUT FAIL TO GET WORK IS KNOWN AS OPEN
UNEMPLOYMENT. OPEN UNEMPLOYMENT IS SO-CALLED BECAUSE IT IS SEEN AND
COUNTED IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS.
• OPEN UNEMPLOYMENT IS DIFFERENT FROM DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT
• IN OPEN EMPLOYMENT, WORKERS WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED ARE COMPLETELY
IDLE. IN CONTRAST, WHEN SOMEONE APPEARS TO BE WORKING AND DOES NOT
SEEM TO BE WASTING THEIR TIME, IT IS KNOWN AS DISGUISED UNEMPLOYMENT.
 WHAT IS THE MEASUREMENT OF
UNEMPLOYMENT?
• THE NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY OFFICE (NSSO), AN ORGANISATION UNDER THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS
AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION (MOSPI) MEASURES UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA ON THE FOLLOWING
APPROACHES:
• USUAL STATUS APPROACH: THIS APPROACH ESTIMATES ONLY THOSE PERSONS AS UNEMPLOYED WHO
HAD NO GAINFUL WORK FOR A MAJOR TIME DURING THE 365 DAYS PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE
SURVEY.
• WEEKLY STATUS APPROACH: THIS APPROACH RECORDS ONLY THOSE PERSONS AS UNEMPLOYED
WHO DID NOT HAVE GAINFUL WORK EVEN FOR AN HOUR ON ANY DAY OF THE WEEK PRECEDING THE
DATE OF THE SURVEY.
• DAILY STATUS APPROACH: UNDER THIS APPROACH, THE UNEMPLOYMENT STATUS OF A PERSON IS
MEASURED FOR EACH DAY IN A REFERENCE WEEK. A PERSON WHO HAS NO GAINFUL WORK EVEN FOR 1
HOUR IN A DAY IS DESCRIBED AS UNEMPLOYED FOR THAT DAY.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT?
• LACK OF EDUCATION/SKILLS: HUGE WORKFORCE ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMAL SECTOR
DUE TO LACK OF REQUIRED EDUCATION/ SKILLS, WHICH IS NOT CAPTURED IN ANY
EMPLOYMENT DATA. FOR EX: DOMESTIC HELPERS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ETC.
• ISSUES REGARDING JOINT FAMILIES: IN BIG JOINT FAMILIES HAVING BIG BUSINESS, MANY
SUCH PEOPLE WILL BE AVAILABLE WHO ARE NOT EMPLOYED AND DEPEND ON THE JOINT
INCOME OF THE FAMILY.
• RAPID GROWTH OF POPULATION: CONSTANT INCREASE IN POPULATION HAS BEEN A BIG
PROBLEM IN INDIA. AS WITH AN INCREASE IN THE LABOUR FORCE THE RATE OF
UNEMPLOYMENT ALSO INCREASES DUE TO THE UNAVAILABILITY OF REQUIRED JOBS.
• DOMINANCE OF AGRICULTURE: STILL IN INDIA NEARLY HALF OF THE
WORKFORCE IS DEPENDENT ON AGRICULTURE.
• HOWEVER, AGRICULTURE IS UNDERDEVELOPED IN INDIA. ALSO, IT PROVIDES
SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT.

• FALL OF COTTAGE AND SMALL INDUSTRIES: DUE TO THE CURRENT

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT HAD ADVERSE EFFECTS ON COTTAGE AND SMALL
INDUSTRIES.
• WHEN THE PRODUCTION OF COTTAGE AND SMALL INDUSTRIES FALL MANY ARTISANS
AS WELL AS EMPLOYEES BECOME UNEMPLOYED.

• IMMOBILITY OF LABOUR: MOBILITY OF LABOUR IN INDIA IS LOW. DUE TO

ATTACHMENT TO THE FAMILY, PEOPLE DO NOT GO TOO FAR OFF AREAS FOR JOBS.
 WHAT ARE THE STEPS TAKEN BY
GOVERNMENT?
• INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IRDP): WAS LAUNCHED IN
1980 TO CREATE FULL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL AREAS.

• TRAINING OF RURAL YOUTH FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT (TRYSEM): THIS

SCHEME WAS STARTED IN 1979 WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO HELP UNEMPLOYED
RURAL YOUTH BETWEEN THE AGE OF 18 AND 35 YEARS TO ACQUIRE SKILLS
FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT. PRIORITY WAS GIVEN TO SC/ST YOUTH AND WOMEN.
• MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT (MNR
EGA):
IT IS AN EMPLOYMENT SCHEME THAT WAS LAUNCHED IN 2005 TO PROVIDE
SOCIAL SECURITY BY GUARANTEEING A MINIMUM OF 100 DAYS PAID WORK
PER YEAR TO ALL THE FAMILIES WHOSE ADULT MEMBERS OPT FOR UNSKILLED
LABOUR-INTENSIVE WORK

• PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA (PMKVY): LAUNCHED IN 2015 HAS

THE OBJECTIVE OF ENABLING A LARGE NUMBER OF INDIAN YOUTHS TO TAKE UP
INDUSTRY-RELEVANT SKILL TRAINING THAT WILL HELP THEM IN SECURING A
BETTER LIVELIHOOD.
 CONCLUSION
• IN CONCLUSION, UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS A PERVASIVE SOCIAL ISSUE IN INDIA,
FUELED BY STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES, REGIONAL AND GENDER DISPARITIES, AND
A MISMATCH BETWEEN SKILLS AND JOB DEMANDS. ITS RAMIFICATIONS EXTEND
BEYOND ECONOMIC STRAINS, ENCOMPASSING SOCIAL PROBLEMS SUCH AS
POVERTY, CRIME, AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT
DEMANDS HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS, INCLUDING SKILL DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND FOSTERING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH.
ADDITIONALLY, EFFORTS TO MITIGATE REGIONAL AND GENDER DISPARITIES ARE
CRUCIAL. BY TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT COMPREHENSIVELY, INDIA CAN STRIVE
TOWARDS A MORE EQUITABLE SOCIETY, WHERE INDIVIDUALS HAVE ACCESS TO
DIGNIFIED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CONTRIBUTING TO BOTH ECONOMIC
PROSPERITY AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING.