Gen Z is worried about jobs, wants government to fix it: MOTN

The latest India Today Mood of the Nation survey reveals what young Indians see as their biggest employment concerns, with 32% pointing to a lack of jobs and 63% placing responsibility for improving youth employability on Union and state governments.The latest India Today Mood of the Nation survey reveals what young Indians see as their biggest employment concerns, with 32% pointing to a lack of jobs. (Photo: PTI)For young Indians, the employment problem may be less about finding the perfect job and more about finding a job at all.As many as 32% of respondents in the latest India Today Mood of the Nation survey said not having enough jobs is the biggest employment problem facing young Indians. Another 18% pointed to low salaries, while 17% said jobs do not match qualifications. An equal 17% said government recruitment is too slow or unreliable.The survey also reveals who young Indians believe should be responsible for fixing the problem. A clear 63% said the Union and state governments should bear the main responsibility for improving employability among young people. Schools and universities came a distant second at 14%, followed by private employers at 9% and individuals and families at 5%.The findings come at a time when India is trying to turn its huge young population into an economic advantage. Recent employment data and major reports, however, show why the transition from education to a stable job remains difficult. The Mood of the Nation is a bi-annual survey that's been commissioned by the India Today Group for around two decades now. The August 2026 edition was conducted by CVoter with a sample of 25,184 people directly surveyed between July 1 and August 25. Another set of 91,795 interviews conducted over the last six months as part of CVoter's regular tracking were also used to formulate the findings of the August Mood of the Nation 2026.NOT ENOUGH JOBS TOPS THE LISTThe first finding is striking because it puts the basic availability of jobs ahead of other concerns.When asked, "What is the biggest employment problem facing young Indians?", the largest group, 32%, chose simply "not enough jobs". Low salaries came next at 18%, while qualification-job mismatch and slow or unreliable government recruitment were each cited by 17%.Another 7% said education does not provide the skills employers need, while 4% pointed to too few secure jobs with benefits. Five per cent said they did not know or chose not to respond.The numbers suggest that the youth employment debate is not only about employability or skills. For a substantial section of respondents, the more fundamental question is whether enough opportunities exist in the first place. That concern finds support in the latest State of Working India 2026 report by Azim Premji University, which uses the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). (AI-generated image based on MOTN Survey) INDIA HAS MORE EDUCATED YOUTH, BUT JOB TRANSITION REMAINS HARDIndia has around 367 million people aged 15 to 29, the world's largest youth population. More young people are also entering colleges and universities, creating a more educated and aspirational workforce.But graduate numbers have grown faster than graduate employment, according to the State of Working India 2026 report. Young graduates continue to face high unemployment and uncertain paths to stable, well-paid work. India's working-age population is expected to begin declining after 2030, leaving a limited window to turn its demographic advantage into productive employment.Government data paints a more positive picture. The Economic Survey 2025-26 says unemployment fell from 6% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24, while female labour force participation rose from 23% to 42%. More than 2.3 crore vacancies were also mobilised through the National Career Service in the first six months of the current fiscal.But the nature of employment matters. The State of Working India 2026 report found that around 40 million of the 83 million jobs added between 2021-22 and 2023-24 were in agriculture.So, a lower unemployment rate does not necessarily mean better employment. A person may have a job while earning little, working informally or doing work unrelated to their qualifications.63% PUT THE RESPONSIBILITY ON GOVERNMENTSThe second India Today MOTN finding related to jobs is perhaps even more revealing.When asked "Who should bear the main responsibility for improving employability among young people?" nearly two-thirds of respondents, 63%, said Union and state governments should bear the main responsibility for improving employability among young people.Schools and universities were named by 14%, individuals and families by 5%, while 9% chose private employers. Ten per cent did not know or did not respond.The expectation from governments comes as public policy has increasingly shifted towards employment-linked incentives, skilling and formalisation.The Centre's Employment Linked Incentive Scheme, now implemented as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, has a total outlay of 99,446 crore. It aims to support more than 3.5 crore jobs over two years, including around 1.92 crore first-time entrants into the workforce. First-time employees can receive an incentive of up to 15,000, while eligible employers can receive up to 3,000 per month for additional employees.The government said in June 2026 that the scheme had already supported 15 lakh employment opportunities and that around 2,400 crore in incentives would be disbursed.That scale shows how central employment has become to economic policy. But it also raises a larger question: can incentives create not just more jobs, but the kind of jobs young Indians want?THE JOBS QUESTION IS BIGGER THAN UNEMPLOYMENTThe MOTN numbers bring together several problems that are often discussed separately.For 32% of respondents, there simply are not enough jobs. For 18%, the problem is pay. For another 17%, a degree does not necessarily lead to the right job. And another 17% see slow or unreliable government recruitment as a major problem.The State of Working India 2026 report points to a similar structural challenge. India has made major gains in education, but the growth of graduates has not been accompanied by enough graduate employment. The report also notes that recent employment growth has been concentrated heavily in agriculture and that salaried earnings have largely stagnated.The Economic Survey, meanwhile, points to a labour market undergoing rapid change, with digitalisation, green energy, gig and platform work reshaping employment. It also recorded a 55% rise in gig workers between FY21 and FY25.That means the jobs challenge facing young Indians is no longer simply about unemployment.It is about how many jobs are available, what they pay, whether they match a person's education, whether they offer security and benefits, and how quickly young people can move from education into work.The MOTN survey shows where young Indians believe the responsibility lies. The latest employment reports show just how difficult that responsibility is to fulfil.- EndsPublished On: Aug 27, 2026 19:11 IST