Only 26% of India's workforce have full-time jobs

Data source: Business Standard *% of entire population of employed full-time for an employer; **% of workforce which is looking for work or available for work

In a recent study, polling firm Gallup has revealed that only about 26% of Indians aged 15 years and above had full-time employment of at least 30 hours per week in the first half of 2012. It also suggests that workers between the age group of 15 to 30 years are five times more likely to remain unemployed and twice as likely to be under-employed compared to their older counterparts. This is indeed a shocking revelation at a time when the developed economies are struggling with dwindling growth rates and high unemployment concerns. The problem of youth unemployment and under-employment can assume monstrous proportions in a highly populated country like India and can lead to disastrous socio-economic consequences. Indian policymakers really need to find a way to unlock the so-called demographic dividend before it starts becoming a huge liability.