41 lakh youth lose jobs in India due to COVID-19 impact: ILO-ADB Report

As many as 41 lakh youth in the country lost jobs due to the COVID19 pandemic while construction and farm sector workers account for the majority of job losses according to a joints report by the International Labour Organization ILO and the Asian Development Bank ADBFor India the report estimates job loss for 41 million youth Construction and agriculture have witnessed the major job losses among seven key sectors said the ILOADB report titled Tackling the COVID19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific released on TuesdayThe young peoples employment prospects in Asia and the Pacific are severely challenged due to the pandemic it addedYouth 15iquest24 years will be hit harder than adults 25 and older in the immediate crisis and risk bearing higher longerterm economic and social costs said the reportThe report is based on regional assessment of the Global Survey on Youth and COVID19 and arrived at estimates based on available unemployment data in different countriesIt said that in India twothirds of firmlevel apprenticeships and three quarters of internships were completely interrupted during the pandemicThe report calls on governments in the region to adopt urgent largescale and targeted measures to generate jobs for the youth keep education and training on track and to minimise future scarring of more than 660 million young people in the regionEven before the COVID19 crisis youth in Asia and the Pacific faced challenges in the labour market resulting in high unemployment rates and large shares of youth excluded from both school and workIn 2019 the regional youth unemployment rate was 138 per cent compared to 3 per cent for adults and more than 160 million youth 24 per cent of the population were not in employment education or trainingFour in five young workers in the region were engaged in informal employment iquest a higher share than among adults iquest and one in four young workers was living in conditions of extreme or moderate povertyThe precrisis challenges for youth are now amplified since COVID19 hit Without sufficient attention our fear is that this risks creating a lockdown generation that could feel the weight of this crisis for many years to come said Sara Elder lead author of the report and head of the ILO Regional Economic and Social Analysis unitThe report cites three ways in which young people are affected in the current crisis These are job disruptions in the form of reduced working hours and earnings and job losses for both paid workers and the selfemployed disruptions in their education and training and difficulties in transitioning from school to work and moving between jobs in a recessionYouth unemployment rates in the region increased sharply in the first quarter of 2020 from the last quarter of 2019 it saidCompared to the first quarter of 2019 the youth unemployment rate increased in six of the nine economies with available data iquest Australia Indonesia Japan Malaysia and Vietnam as well as in Hong Kong China which showed the largest increase of 3 percentage points In all these economies youth rates increased more than adult rates the report showedBetween 1 crore and 15 crore youth jobs fulltime equivalent may be lost across 13 countries in Asia and the Pacific in 2020 according to the reports projectionsAccording to the report a reasons young people in the region face greater labour market disruption and job losses than adults is that nearly half of them more than 10 crore were employed in the four sectors hardest hit by the crisis The sectors are wholesale and retail trade and repair manufacturing rental and business services and accommodation and food servicesYoung women are overrepresented in three of the four mostaffected sectors particularly in accommodation and food services it saidCompounded by the forced suspension of education and training the COVID19 crisis will affect young peoples transitions to and within labour markets and could result in scarring effects as seen in previous crises according to the reportIt recommends urgent largescale and targeted responses including youthtargeted wage subsidies and public employment programmes and measures to mitigate the impact on students of the disruption to their education and trainingGovernments should consider balancing the inclusion of the youth in wider labour market and economic recovery measures with youthtargeted interventions to maximise effective allocation of resourcesPrioritizing youth employment in the COVID19 recovery process will improve Asia and the Pacifics future prospects for inclusive and sustainable growth demographic transition and social stability said Chris Morris head of the ADB NGO and civil society center and leading ADBs Youth for Asia initiativeKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel 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