Young Indians without Jobs Miss out on Growing Economy
2023-06-05
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1Recent studies say India is soon to be the most populous country in the world, with about 1.4 billion people.
2More than half of India's population is under the age of 30.
3That means India has hundreds of millions of working-age people.
4Financial experts note that the country's economy is growing quickly.
5However, many young Indians are missing out on the growth because they do not have jobs.
6Rafiq Nagar is an extremely poor area of Mumbai.
7About 800,000 people live there in poor conditions.
8Among them is 23-year-old Nizamudin Abdul Rahim Khan.
9He struggles to find work.
10He spends his time playing cricket on the street.
11Khan said he earns about $122 each month by working as a laborer for home repairs or construction.
12Naseem Jafar Ali works for a nonprofit organization in Mumbai.
13He said Khan is not the only young person who wants to work but cannot find a job.
14During the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in India's cities rose above 20 percent.
15While the rate has gone down recently, many full-time jobs have not returned.
16As a result, more people are doing casual work.
17That means they are not working full time or every day.
18While India's economy is growing, experts say the country will not reach its potential if such large numbers of people struggle to get work.
19Radhicka Kapoor studies unemployment for the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
20She said people who are officially unemployed are "only the tip of the iceberg."
21She said a larger problem is underemployment and those who are unemployed but not correctly counted.
22She called it "disguised unemployment."
23Khan said he helps his family with the money he makes.
24But he wants to be able to do more.
25He said, "if I get a permanent job, then there will be no problem."
26Jayati Ghosh is an economist who is concerned about young people missing out on the country's growth.
27She said there are a lot of young people whose families spent money on their education.
28But those people still cannot find work.
29"That's horrifying," she said.
30"It's not just the question of potential loss to the economy ... it is a lost generation."
31Ghosh said the fall of small businesses has been the biggest problem in India. She called it a "collapse."
32Ghosh said recent government policies hurt small businesses, and so did the pandemic.
33The government said over 10,000 small businesses closed between April 2022 and March 2023.
34A year earlier, 6,000 such businesses closed.
35As a result, many people who would have worked for these small businesses in past years are now on their own.
36But self-employed people only earn about $178 per month.
37People working for businesses make about $212 per month.
38The problem is more severe in India's major cities.
39There are 150 million working-age people in cities, but less than half have jobs.
40In recent years, many young people have come to cities from rural areas in search of work.
41Even people who have an education and job experience cannot find work.
42Arshad Ali Ansari is a 22-year-old student.
43He lives in the same neighborhood as Khan, the young man who passes time playing cricket.
44Ansari talked about his brother, who lost his job at a bank during the pandemic.
45Now he helps his father paint houses.
46The family of eight lives in a small room.
47They live on about $240 per month.
48"My brother had an education, he had experience," Ansari said.
49His sister lost her job, too.
50She was a social worker.
51She does not think she will find another job.
52Pranjul Bhandari is an economist for the banking company HSBC.
53He recently wrote a report about India's jobs problem.
54He said the nation will need to create 70 million new jobs over the next 10 years.
55However, the country is only set to create 24 million new jobs.
56That, he said, means 46 million people will miss out on earnings.
57I'm Dan Friedell.
1Recent studies say India is soon to be the most populous country in the world, with about 1.4 billion people. 2More than half of India's population is under the age of 30. That means India has hundreds of millions of working-age people. 3Financial experts note that the country's economy is growing quickly. However, many young Indians are missing out on the growth because they do not have jobs. 4Rafiq Nagar is an extremely poor area of Mumbai. About 800,000 people live there in poor conditions. Among them is 23-year-old Nizamudin Abdul Rahim Khan. He struggles to find work. He spends his time playing cricket on the street. Khan said he earns about $122 each month by working as a laborer for home repairs or construction. 5Naseem Jafar Ali works for a nonprofit organization in Mumbai. He said Khan is not the only young person who wants to work but cannot find a job. 6During the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in India's cities rose above 20 percent. 7While the rate has gone down recently, many full-time jobs have not returned. As a result, more people are doing casual work. That means they are not working full time or every day. 8While India's economy is growing, experts say the country will not reach its potential if such large numbers of people struggle to get work. 9Radhicka Kapoor studies unemployment for the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. She said people who are officially unemployed are "only the tip of the iceberg." She said a larger problem is underemployment and those who are unemployed but not correctly counted. She called it "disguised unemployment." 10Khan said he helps his family with the money he makes. But he wants to be able to do more. He said, "if I get a permanent job, then there will be no problem." 11Jayati Ghosh is an economist who is concerned about young people missing out on the country's growth. She said there are a lot of young people whose families spent money on their education. But those people still cannot find work. "That's horrifying," she said. "It's not just the question of potential loss to the economy ... it is a lost generation." 12Ghosh said the fall of small businesses has been the biggest problem in India. She called it a "collapse." 13Ghosh said recent government policies hurt small businesses, and so did the pandemic. The government said over 10,000 small businesses closed between April 2022 and March 2023. A year earlier, 6,000 such businesses closed. 14As a result, many people who would have worked for these small businesses in past years are now on their own. But self-employed people only earn about $178 per month. People working for businesses make about $212 per month. 15The problem is more severe in India's major cities. There are 150 million working-age people in cities, but less than half have jobs. In recent years, many young people have come to cities from rural areas in search of work. 16Even people who have an education and job experience cannot find work. Arshad Ali Ansari is a 22-year-old student. He lives in the same neighborhood as Khan, the young man who passes time playing cricket. Ansari talked about his brother, who lost his job at a bank during the pandemic. Now he helps his father paint houses. The family of eight lives in a small room. They live on about $240 per month. 17"My brother had an education, he had experience," Ansari said. His sister lost her job, too. She was a social worker. She does not think she will find another job. 18Pranjul Bhandari is an economist for the banking company HSBC. He recently wrote a report about India's jobs problem. He said the nation will need to create 70 million new jobs over the next 10 years. However, the country is only set to create 24 million new jobs. That, he said, means 46 million people will miss out on earnings. 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 21__________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23construction -n. the work of building things 24rate -n. the count of something happening (or not happening) over a period of time 25potential -n. a person's or group's ability to become successful 26tip of the iceberg -phrase. only the visible part of a deeper problem 27disguised -adj. something that is hidden or not easily seen 28horrifying -adj. something scary or surprising 29collapse -adj. something that fell apart quickly or without warning 30social worker -n. a person who helps families and people with problems 31__________________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. Do you think the Indian economy will grow enough to help the young people find work? 33Here is how our comment system works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.