Management Perspectives

To make any comments on the topic of ‘unemployment in India’, I first did some research on the internet, which has almost all official data from the government and also various interpretations by economists and others. The best I could find was a wide range between 4 to 8 per cent. ILO’s global figure being 5 per cent and not seeing India in the list of ‘top ten countries with high unemployment figures’; also learning that our rank is in the 80s—I wasn’t overly worried. Incidentally, the ‘top 10’ also include Greece at rank 9 with 11 per cent unemployment and Spain (ranked 10) 12%. The ‘dubious distinction’ list doesn’t have Bangladesh and Pakistan! I also found that (i) some 1.5 lakh junior doctors are unemployed and in the same paragraph about ‘our need for 21 lakh additional doctors by 2030’ (ii) 83 per cent of the engineers are jobless. At this point—not wanting to get more confused— I gave up. I think we are treating all those who are not satisfied with their jobs and feel they deserve better (which is universal and seems largely true) as unemployed; so it is more a question of people not finding the right job and a situation where we need to do better matchmaking in the job market. It is understandable that new graduates accept the first offer they get and then realise that either they are not in the right place or they deserve better. Also, I feel, governments are just not able to get at definitive figures of the unemployed. It is indeed very difficult to do so because the enumerators have to go only by the figures furnished by employers or from the PF offices. However, the point I am trying to make is that we are missing millions of persons in the country who are either casually employed by someone or gainfully working as small entrepreneurs in myriad vocations. Let me explain. The biggest chunk—around 25 to 30 million—comes from what are generally known as ‘gig workers’—those involved in jobs lasting a specific task and time. We could even call them independent contractors or free lancers earning a living without a regular employer-employee relationship. Gig jobs came into the public domain during the dreaded COVID-19 period—mainly for delivery of food, groceries, and medicines— and not just stayed on, but thrived, as people realised the advantages.

All these people are gainfully employed but none will feature on the official statistics; and I haven’t even named half the trades they ply

Today we see them all the time zipping around delivering food, groceries, medicines, and business parcels, and more. Looking at the valuation of Zomato (1.9 lakh crore as of March ’25) they must be using a lot of delivery boys and girls and even the estimate of total 25-30 million gig workers in the country is perhaps a gross understatement! I am quite sure not more than 15-20 per cent of them are on the payrolls of the big companies; and the rest have no safety net and don’t make it to employment statistics. Next, let us look at the self-employed micro entrepreneurs. I live in Gurgaon, in a colony adjoining MG Road, the stretch between IFFCO chowk (crossing of MG Road with NH8) and Sikanderpur. If I take a walk on the slip road, I see 100s of these gutsy entrepreneurs selling a variety of reasonably priced food. There are elaborate mobile dhabas dishing out tandoor fresh naans and daal bukhara; they also carry a table and a couple of chairs. Then there are handcarts dishing out a variety of street food. On an average, each outlet employs one or two helpers. So, just imagine the numbers employed—including the entrepreneur—all over the country, near every cinema or mall or office blocks. I call them ‘gutsy’ because, apart from managing their own business, they have to manage the people from municipalities and the police, also. Then there is a whole segment of other roadside vendors, many of whom have a decent number of loyal customers. All these people are gainfully employed but none will feature on the official statistics; and I haven’t even named half the trades they ply. The unemployment situation in our country is certainly not alarming. Yes, many people are not in jobs merited by their skills and that is a situation which will always be around in an economy that is thriving.