India's Young Workforce: More Educated, Moving to Industry, Facing Job Challenges

• India has significantly expanded access to higher education for youth, reducing gender and caste disparities over the last four decades.
• The 'State of Working India 2026' report highlights that while education levels are rising, absorbing this educated cohort into the labor market is crucial for India's demographic dividend to become an economic one.
• Youth education levels, especially among women, have increased substantially, with India's tertiary enrollment rate comparable to similar income countries; however, male tertiary enrollment has seen a drop.
• Challenges include faculty growth not matching student numbers, declining quality in private ITIs, and high graduate unemployment (nearly 40% for 15-29 year olds).
• Young workers are shifting from agriculture to manufacturing and services, with women increasingly entering IT and automobile sectors, and migration helping balance regional disparities.