the types of unemployment in India and their consequences

Introduction

Unemployment is a situation in which able-bodied people who are looking for a job cannot find a job. In simple words, people ready and qualified to work are not able to due to situations in the economy. India is the second most populated country in the world at the moment with a population of roughly 1.4 billion individuals. Out of this enormous group of people, 31 million still remain unemployed. Unemployment is one of many social issues India deals with today, however, this social issue might be the most consequential of all as it is correlated to most other social issues like poverty, corruption, farmer suicide and many illegal activities such as theft, murder and kidnapping.

Causes of Unemployment in India

Rapid growth of population.

India’s population is the fastest growing population on the planet, even more than China’s. It is very evident that India’s population will soon cross China’s as well. However, the labour requirements have only not risen much. The requirement for unskilled labour has remained the same for the past few years. The rising population has led to rise in the rate of unemployment.

Caste system.

The caste system in India has been the reason behind many issues the country has been facing. One of them is unemployment. In many cases, a job is not given to a deserving candidate but given to a person belonging to a particular community. Due to this, generations of a certain community remain jobless and are forced to live in poverty.

Agriculture is a seasonal occupation.

Agriculture is underdeveloped in India. It is only efficient to provide seasonal employment to most farmers and as a massive part of the population depends on agriculture as their source of livelihood, it has led to widespread unemployment.

Fall of cottages and small industries.

Industrial development in the early 2000’s had an adverse effect on cottages and small industries. The production of cottage industries began to fall and many artisans became unemployed. 

Inadequate irrigation facilities.

Even after the completion of the 11^thfive-year plan, only 39% of total cultivable land has proper irrigation facilities because of which farmers are restricted to grow not more than one or two crops per year. They remain unemployed for majority of the year.

Immobility of labour.

Mobility of labour in India is low. People want to stay close to their family and friends and do not wish to travel to different states for work. Factors like language, religion and climate are also responsible for low mobility. Immobility of labour adds to unemployment. 

Types of Unemployment in India

Open unemployment.

Open unemployment is a situation where in a large section of the labour force does not get a job that may yield them regular income. This type of unemployment can be seen and counted in terms of the number of unemployed persons. In India, the labour force expands at a faster rate as compared to the growth rate of the economy. 

Disguised unemployment.

It is a situation where more people are involved in a task than are actually required. Even if some are withdrawn from the activity, production does not suffer. This type of unemployment exists mainly in the agricultural sector. Family members devote their lives to one occupation. In India, farmers usually involve their family in the activity even though the requirement of the land is not as much. This leads to disguised unemployment.

Seasonal unemployment.

It is the unemployment that occurs during certain seasons of the year. In some industries and occupations like agriculture, holiday resorts, ice factories etc., production activities are confined to particular time periods or seasons. So these activities only offer employment for that amount of time.

Cyclical unemployment.

It is caused by trade cycles at regular intervals. The down swing in business activities results in unemployment. However, cyclical unemployment is normally a short run phenomenon and does not affect the overall unemployment rate a lot

Educated unemployment.

Among the educated crowd, many remain unemployed because their qualifications may not match the requirement. Faulty education system, mass output, preference for white collar jobs and dwindling formal salaried jobs are responsible. 

Technological unemployment.

This type of unemployment is the result of rapid technological advancements that have eliminated the need for physical work. India is a country that is currently on the path towards development. Every company needs to make technology a part of their daily activities to remain competitive. This has led to unemployment in areas where technology was able to substitute manual handwork.

Structural unemployment.

This type of unemployment arises due to drastic changes in the economic structure of a country. These changes affect supply or demand for a factor of production. Structural unemployment is a natural outcome of economic development and growth. India being an underdeveloped country faces structural unemployment as a result of the efforts to become developed.

Frictional unemployment.

Frictional unemployment is caused due to improper adjustment between supply of labour and demand for labour. This type of unemployment is due to immobility of labour, lack of correct and timely information, seasonal nature of work. etc.

Consequences of Unemployment in India

Personal disorganization.

From the point of view of individuals, the unemployed individual faces disillusionment and falls prey to cynicism. Having no outlet to depression, they direct their energy towards wrong channels which explains the crime rate in India.

Family disorganization.

Unemployment affects the unity of interests of family members, the unity of objectives, as well as the unity of personal ambitions. The discordant working of the family creates disharmony which leads to divorces and gives children wrong messages.

Social disorganization.

Social disorganization is a breakdown of the social structure, or change because of which old forms of social control no longer function effec­tively, or a process by which social relationships between members of a group are broken or dissolved. This disorganization disrupts the growth of the economy and acts as a obstacle towards the path of development and growth.

Conclusion

India is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Religion, cultures and tradition vary from state to state, in some cases even city to city. India can only prosper as a country if the diversity can be used to reduce unemployment. The government has to step up and make changes. The rising population needs to be curbed by enforcing strict laws, the quality of education should be improved, government should encourage and develop the agriculture based industries in rural areas and the government should allow more foreign companies to open their units in India so that more employment opportunities are created. If the government is able to make these changes, the rate of unemployment will fall down.