Page 1 of 8
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1248
Unemployment in India: Trends in Structure and Pattern
SUSHILA
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
Government College, Sidhrawali (Gurugram)
E-mail: sushila.dhankhar802@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The economic growth decides the percentage of employment in a country. The increase in
employment is directly proportional to the production in a country. Therefore, when a
country makes progress and its production expands the employment opportunities grow. This
paper examines the trends and structure of unemployment in India. In India problem of
unemployment is a very grave and complex. Problem of unemployment has become more
abundant and will only increase in future. It also discusses the various type of unemployment
in India like educated unemployment, seasonal unemployment, open unemployment etc. In
India occupational distribution of employment analysis that the share of primary sector is
declining and on the other hand service sector share is increasing after 1990 because of the
new economic policy measures which are liberalization and privatisation. This paper also
discusses the trend of unemployment and employment in organised and unorganised sectors.
Key Words: Unemployment, Educated, Trend, Pattern, Structure, Economic
INTRODUCTION
Unemployment is that stage in which people don’t get work even when they have no
objection in working on the same wages. In calculating unemployment percentage of a
country those people are taken into consideration, who are willing to work on the existing
wage rate. The population which is not capable of working does not come under thy category
of unemployed. Likewise those who do not want to work are also not included.
Unemployment calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals
by all individuals currently in the labour force. India suffers from chronic unemployment. In
India during the last three decades production has increased in all the sectors of the economy
Page 2 of 8
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1249
but during the first three decades of economic planning, growth of employment was
considerably lower than the targeted rate. In India the nature of unemployment is multi
dimensional. It is various types like educated unemployment, seasonal unemployment, open
unemployment etc. Unemployment is caused by various factors like increase in population,
education system, lack of resources, slow speed of industrialisation, mechanisation etc.
TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA
There are various types of unemployment in India such as
1. Open Unemployment: the meaning of open unemployment is that a person remains
unemployed throughout the year. The people are capable of working but they are not
able to find work for themselves as there is a dearth of employment.
2. Under Unemployment: It can be interpreted in two ways one when a person gets
employment for a short period of time and then becomes unemployed and secondly a
person gets employment but works much below his calibre and qualification.
According to National Sample Survey, if a person works for 28 hours only or even
less per week, he suffers from acute under employment and if he works between 29
and 42 hours per week he is limited under unemployed.
3. Seasonal Unemployment: it is related to the agricultural employment which is more
or less season based. A person employed in this area has to face the problems of un- employability because it is determined by a particular season when there is
availability of work. A person working in this sector has work only when there is crop
cutting season and seed sowing season but apart from these two times the person
remains unemployed. The same is the case with people employed with the woollen
garments and other seasonal industry.
4. Disguised Unemployment: In this type of unemployment that stage is reached where
the required manpower is more than required for the given job. in this case there are
chances of people being of picked and chosen and many are left out because they are
not required. There is no fall in the total output. The marginal productivity therefore
related to such labour becomes zero. It occurs in agriculture sector and 25 to 30
Page 3 of 8
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 1250
percent of population working in rural areas suffers from disguised unemployment in
India.
5. Structural Unemployment: With the change in technology the structures
employment increases. The main cause of this employment is the lack of knowledge
about the new technology and increase in the demand of new types of goods and
services. The problem is mainly due to the no0n availability of skill development
programmes of labours. They work as per there old techniques and are not
comfortable with new technology. The technology advances at a much faster rate in
comparison to the skills of the workers. This causes an increase in the unemployment
of labour percentage.
6. Frictional Unemployment: This type of unemployment is of temporary nature and
the mai9n reason behind it is market irregularities. It is of temporary nature. This may
take place when a person shifts from one place to another and they try to seek jobs.
They are not able to find employment instantly and take time in getting a job.
Sometimes there is a time gap between a person leaving the job and getting one.
7. Educated Unemployment: The employment when an educated person doesn't get a
job as per his or his it is referred to as educational qualification unemployment. In
India we have many new schools, colleges and universities and the no of educated
people have increased manifold in the past few years. But the job opportunities for
educated people have not increased in the same proportion. So it has increased the
problem of educated unemployment. The illiterate person takes any job that comes in
their way, but the educated person take only jobs according to their educational level.
In the year 2009-10, unemployment rate in illiterate section was only 0.2 percent but
this rate was nine percent for the persons who were graduates and above.
STRUCTURE OF EMPLOYMENT
Structure of employment means sectoral distribution of employment in primary, secondary
and tertiary sectors, employment in organised and unorganised sector, employment in rural
and urban sector. In the following table we have sector wise estimates of employment. These
