'I keep looking for jobs from 9 am to 5 pm'

'I keep looking for jobs from 9 am to 5 pm'

Published 2 minutes ago

There are 36.7 crore youth in India aged between 15 to 29 years. This is the largest population of youth in the world and constitutes about one-third of the country's working age population. Of these, 26.3 crore youth are not in education and are part of the potential workforce.

According to the latest Periodic Labor Force Survey of the National Statistics Office, the unemployment rate of this group in the quarter from April to June 2026 stood at 15.9 percent. This is marginally more than 15 percent in the previous quarter from January to March 2026.

At the same time, according to the 'State of Working India 2026' report of Azim Premji University, the situation of unemployment among graduate youth is even worse. The unemployment rate among graduate youth aged 15 to 25 years is around 40 percent, while among youth aged 25 to 29 years it is around 20 percent.

To understand how these statistics impact the youth, let us look at the story of Abhi, a young graduate from Uttar Pradesh.

Abhi is going through interviews, rejections and everyday challenges while searching for a job in Noida. His story helps us understand what these figures mean on the ground and how difficult it is for a young graduate to get a job in India today.