Citing International Labour Organization & Institute for Human Development report, Congress targets Modi govt

Congress on Wednesday targeted the Modi government over unemployment, citing data from the India Employment Report 2024 released on the previous day by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Institute for Human Development.

"ILO and IHD report conclusively says that the unemployment problem is grim in India. We are sitting on a 'ticking bomb' of joblessness! But Modi government's chief economic advisor protects the dear leader, by saying 'government can't solve all social, economic problems such as unemployment'," said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

AICC communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh flagged some "extremely concerning facts" in India's labour market over the past 10 years, as per the report. "Each year, around 70-80 lakh youths are added to the labour force, but between 2012 and 2019, there was almost zero growth in employment - just 0.01%! In 2022, unemployment was very high among the urban youth (17.2%) as well as rural youth (10.6%). The female unemployment rate in urban areas was extremely high at 21.6%," said Ramesh. "This report finds that the Modi government increased the percentage of low-paying informal-sector employment without social security, while formal employment decreased from 10.5% to 9.7% from 2019-22."