No Jobs For 18.6 lakh Youths In Odisha in 2019-20 Vs 17.3 lakh in 2018-19: PLFS

The youth unemployment rate in Odisha remains grim. For the second year in a row, the rate of joblessness among the youths (15-29 years age-group) in the State was in double-digits. Among the major states, excluding small, hilly and north-eastern states, in the youth unemployment rate, Odisha figured among the dubious top-5 list.

As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2019-20 released today, the youth unemployment rate in Odisha has been measured at 19.6 per cent. Around one in every five youths in the State have no job at hand. While the rural youth unemployment rate in the State has been estimated at 18.8 per cent, the urban number is 22.9 per cent.

In absolute number, more than 18.6 lakh youths in the age group of 15-29 years failed to get any gainful employment in the State in the year 2019-20. The number of jobless youth in the year 2018-19 in Odisha had been over 17.3 lakh. Over the years, the unemployed youth population in the State has grown by more than a lakh.

2019-20 Vs 2018-19

A detailed glance at the PLFS data for two consecutive years reveal that the rate of youth unemployment in the State has improved in 2019-20. As per the data, when the overall joblessness rate in the 15-29 years age group in Odisha in 2018-19 was 22.8 per cent, the rate dropped to 19.6 per cent in 2019-20. An improvement has, thus, been observed.

However, the gloomy fact to the fore is Odisha had seen a drop in labour force participation rate (both male and female) in the urban areas in 2019-20. And a sharp drop in the urban female unemployment rate (from 46 per cent in 2018-19 to 27.4 per cent in 2019-20) had been the main reason behind the little bit fall in the youth unemployment rate in 2019-20.

But the blip is male rural unemployment rate has increased to 22.7 per cent in 2019-20 from 22 per cent in 2018-19. Data shows while the rural female unemployment rate has improved over the years, the same has worsened for the rural males in the State.

However, when a comparative analysis has been done with the neighbours, it tells a big story.

Odisha Vs Neighbours

• In 2018-19, the youth unemployment rate in Bihar was a massive 30.9 per cent, the same in 2019-20 had been brought down to 17.6 per cent.
• The youth unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh in 2019-20 had been 10 per cent as against 9 per cent in 2018-19.
• The rate of unemployment among youths in the age group 15-29 years in Jharkhand was 14 per cent in 2018-19, the rate dropped to 13 per cent in 2019-20.
• The youth joblessness rate in West Bengal in 2018-19 was 11 per cent, the same in 2019-20 jumped to 14.2 per cent.
• In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the joblessness rate among youths in 2018-19 was 18.9 per cent, the same in 2019-20 had dropped to 17 per cent.

The above data reveals that Odisha has the highest youth unemployment rate among its neighbouring states.

Country Numbers (Among major states)

• Kerala has the highest youth unemployment rate of 35.4 per cent in the country.
• Telangana with a rate of 24.2 per cent is 2nd in the dubious list.
• Delhi with a joblessness rate of 22 per cent is third in the table.
• Tamil Nadu with 20.9 per cent unemployment rate is at 4th.
• Odisha with 19.6 per cent is in 5th place.