Abstract India’s economic growth over the last three decades has been impressive by many macroeconomic standards; however, this growth has not translated into adequate employment opportunities a disconnect popularly referred to as jobless growth. Despite a significant rise in GDP, the Indian labour market continues to struggle with persistent unemployment, underemployment, informality, and low quality of jobs. Youth unemployment, especially among educated and urban youth, remains higher than the national average, pointing to structural mismatches between labour supply and labour market demand. This paper uses secondary data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Economic Survey reports, World Bank and ILO sources to analyse trends in unemployment, identify root causes, evaluate policy responses, and suggest targeted solutions for sustainable employment generation. The findings show that policies emphasizing skill development, labour-intensive growth, formalisation of employment, and gender inclusion are critical to addressing joblessness in India. Effective policy implementation, institutional coordination, and monitoring are indispensable for transforming growth into gainful jobs.
M. Satheesh Pandian and S. Karthikeyan (2026) studied this question.