What is Underemployment?
Historical Background
Key Points
8 points- 1.
Visible Underemployment: Individuals working part-time when they desire full-time work.
- 2.
Invisible Underemployment: Individuals working full-time but in jobs that do not match their skills or education (e.g., a highly qualified engineer working as a clerk).
- 3.
Disguised Underemployment: Prevalent in agriculture, where many family members share work that could be done by fewer, leading to zero marginal productivity of labour.
- 4.
Seasonal Underemployment: Common in sectors like agriculture, where work is available only during certain seasons, leaving workers idle for the rest of the year.
- 5.
Causes: Lack of adequate job creation, skill mismatch, structural economic issues, seasonality of certain sectors, and lack of access to capital for self-employment.
- 6.
Impact: Lower incomes, reduced productivity, slower economic growth, social frustration, and perpetuation of poverty.
- 7.
Measurement: Difficult to measure accurately compared to unemployment. Often assessed through labour force surveys that capture hours worked and desire for more work.
- 8.
Policy Responses: Employment guarantee schemes, skill development programs, promotion of non-farm sectors, and investment in rural infrastructure.
Visual Insights
Understanding Underemployment: Types, Causes, Impact & Policy Responses
A mind map explaining the concept of underemployment, its different forms, underlying causes, socio-economic impacts, and the policy measures adopted to address it in India.
Underemployment in India
- ●Definition & Types
- ●Causes
- ●Impact
- ●Policy Responses
Recent Developments
5 developmentsThe Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by NSO provides data on employment status, including indicators related to underemployment.
Increased focus on skill development and vocational training to reduce skill mismatch and enhance employability.
Promotion of manufacturing and service sectors to absorb surplus agricultural labour and diversify employment.
Government initiatives like Make in India and Startup India aim to create diverse and quality employment opportunities.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated underemployment in many sectors, particularly informal and migrant labour.