A Study about Unemployment in India – 2004 - 2018

Unemployment is one of the growing economic concerns for a developing country like India, which has the world’s largest youth population. Young Indians face a lot of barriers due to poverty and lack of technical skills required to get into the right job. Though there are a lot of reforms in the education sector, gaining a stable position in the labor market is difficult. Most men in rural areas are now shifting to casual jobs rather than farming activities and women tend to be self-employed. This paper explores the trend in the unemployment rate from 2004 -2018. It provides an overall analysis of the unemployment rate among males and females, rural and urban areas, states and the union territories as well as the relationship between GSDP and unemployment. The paper provides a comparative analysis on the unemployment rate during the Covid-19 pandemic.