Youth unemployment is a significant labour-market problem in India, as the growing numbers of educated youths complete their secondary/higher education but struggle to access meaningful and sustainable employment. This research analyses the education to employment transition and discusses the various factors that correlate with youth unemployment in India. Specifically, the research looks at the relationship between attained educational levels, acquired skills, available job opportunities in the labor market and attained work experience and the nature of employment accessible to the youth. The study utilized existing secondary data sources from government statistical agencies, labor market surveys and other reports and academic papers. Descriptive and comparative analyses were employed to explain youth unemployment trends and to highlight variations by sex, level of education, and geographic regions- rural and urban dichotomy. The findings indicate that a higher attainment of educational level does not automatically guarantee a smooth entry into a job. While higher educated youths need time to achieve job search matching because expected work differs from the readily available employment opportunities, mismatches between supply and demand of skills, shortage of work experience, geographical limitations of available jobs, and gender constraints may additionally slow down the transition into employment. However, the analysis confirms that strengthening educational and business partnerships, and ensuring quality vocational and technical training, careers guidance and training-cum-apprenticeship opportunities, as well as opening new avenues for youth in the employment sector will certainly cut down youth unemployment.
International Labour Organization. Education and the Solution to Decent Work for Youth in Developing Economies. International Labour Office, 2014. International Labour Organization. India Employment Report 2024: Youth Employment, Education and Skills. International Labour Office, 2024. Majid, Nomaan. Young Persons Not in Employment and Education (NEET) in India: 2000–2019. International Labour Organization, 2021. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2025. Government of India, 2026. Mitra, Arup, and Sher Verick. Youth Employment and Unemployment: An Indian Perspective. International Labour Organization, ILO Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series, 2013. Das, Panchanan, and Swarup Roy. “Youth Unemployment, Education and Job Training: An Analysis of PLFS Data in India.” Reimagining Prosperity: A New Agenda for India, Springer, 2023, pp. 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7177-8_5. Dev, S. Mahendra, and M. Venkatanarayana. “Youth Employment and Unemployment in India.” Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research Working Paper, 2011. International Labour Organization. Informal Employment among Youth: Evidence from 20 School-to-Work Transition Surveys. International Labour Office, 2014. International Labour Organization. Unemployment among Youth in India: Level, Nature and Policy Implications. Employment and Training Papers, no. 36, International Labour Office, 1998. International Labour Organization. Is Education the Solution to Decent Work for Youth in Developing Economies? Identifying Qualifications Mismatch from 28 School-to-Work Transition Surveys. International Labour Office, 2014. Sarkar, Sandip. Trends and Patterns of Labour Supply and Unemployment in India. International Labour Office, 2008. Sharma, Alakh N. “Youth Employment and Unemployment in India: Issues and Challenges.” Indian Journal of Labour Economics, vol. 65, no. 2, 2022, pp. 237–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-022-00387-5. Srivastava, Ravi, and Siddharth Dhote. “Education, Employment, and the Youth Labour Market in India.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 59, no. 50, 2024, pp. 54–64. Mehta, Balwant Singh, and Ishwar Chandra Awasthi. “Youth’s Passage from School to Work.” Indian Youth’s Journey from Education to Decent Work, Springer, 2025, pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4475-9_1. Bisht, Nitin, and Falguni Pattanaik. “Unravelling the Conundrum of Youth Unemployment in India.” Youth in India, Springer, 2023, pp. 69–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4330-2_3.
Keywords
Cite this Article
Sutha, T. (2026). Youth Unemployment and the Transition from Education to Employment in India. The Business and Economic Research, 1(1), 35-42.
T. Sutha "Youth Unemployment and the Transition from Education to Employment in India." The Business and Economic Research, vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, pp. 35-42.
T. Sutha. 2026. "Youth Unemployment and the Transition from Education to Employment in India." The Business and Economic Research 1, no. 1: 35-42.
Citation generated automatically. Please verify formatting before use.
Licensing
© 2026 The Author(s). The Author(s) retain copyright of their work. Published by The Business and Economic Research.
All articles published in The Business and Economic Research are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This licence permits anyone to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full text, and reuse or adapt the published work for any lawful purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the Creative Commons licence is provided, and any changes made to the original work are indicated.
The authors grant The Business and Economic Research the right of first publication and a non-exclusive licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, display and archive the article in all formats and media. Authors retain all copyright and other rights in their work.
Authors are permitted to share and deposit their accepted manuscript and published article in institutional repositories, subject repositories, personal websites and other lawful repositories, provided that the original publication in The Business and Economic Research is properly acknowledged and the article is linked to the official published version where possible.
The full terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/