India’s urban unemployment surged to 20.9% in the April to June 2020 quarter, attributed to the effect of Covid-19, and while unemployment rates have fallen since then, few full-time jobs are available. Instead, more job-seekers, particularly the young, are resorting to low-paid casual work or financially unreliable self-employment. Most worryingly, over 53% of India’s population is under 30, forming the country’s much-touted demographic dividend, but without jobs, they are becoming a drag on the economy. Without adequate employment and earnings, India’s prospects of fueling the economic growth needed to create jobs are dimming, creating a vicious cycle that could be disastrous.
MUMBAI – Nizamudin Abdul Rahim Khan is a 23-year-old playing cricket on a muddy, unpaved road in the Rafiq Nagar slum in India’s financial capital, Mumbai. With an estimated 800,000 living in tiny rooms across narrow, dark alleys surrounding the area, the people here mostly struggle to find work and wile away their days. Khan is just one of many people in the area earning ₹10,000 ($135) a month as casual labour for home repair, who would have no income if he could not receive permanent work.
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[Person] Nizamudin Abdul Rahim Khan, 23 years old, is one of many casual labourers residing Mumbai’s Rafiq Nagar slum area earning ₹10,000 ($135) per month as a result of a significant drop in job prospects due to increased underemployment and unreliable self-employment faced by several Indians, particularly young adults.
