Landing jobs for age group 18-21 not an easy task now, shows data

This is comes in the backdrop of violent protests over the government's Agnipath scheme

Those aged 18-21 years are finding it difficult to land jobs in India as creation of formal jobs has declined steadily and significantly, according to a Business Standard report citing data.

As per data, the share of the mentioned age group in the net EPF accounts declined significantly from 37.9 per cent in 2018-19 to 24.1 per cent in 2021-22

This comes in the backdrop of violent protests over the government's Agnipath scheme, which targets around 46,000 people's recruitment in the age group 17.5-23 for a four-year term in the defence forces.

Net jobs created for the 18-21 age group did not decline in absolute numbers as new EPF accounts created for this age group witnessed a jump of around 26 per cent between 2018-19 and 2021-22. But the net jobs created for all age groups witnessed a hike of almost 98 per cent during the same period, which left the net job creation for 18-21 age group legging behind.

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“It is a trend that has traditionally been there and is going to exacerbate after Covid. The preference is more for older people, who have more experience. If one wants to bear the burden of social security costs, one wants to do it with an experienced person,” Radhicka Kapoor, senior fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) was quoted saying by the publication.

Although more people joined the workforce in the year 2021-22 than had exited after Covid outbreak, the age group 18-21 and below 18 witnessed more people quitting than rejoining.

“There was a decline in growth rates in manufacturing, construction and retail and whenever there is a decline in these sectors, new employment suffers the most,” Satyaki Roy, associate professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development was quoted by the report.