CHRISTIANS MOST EDUCATED, BUT HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
The unemployment rate in
urban areas reduced from 4.5 per cent in 2004-05 to 3.4 per cent in 2011-12,
new data from the National Sample Survey Office show. In rural areas, the rate
has been stable at around 1.7 per cent during this period.According to the
survey, which was conducted in 2011-12 and released on Friday, the unemployment
rate across all the religious groups in rural areas was on the lower side than
those in urban areas for both males and females. Unemployment rate is defined as
the number of persons unemployed as a proportion of the labour force (persons
who are either ‘working’ or ‘seeking or available for work’), not the total
population.
Christians have the highest
rate of unemployment in both rural (4.5 per cent) and urban (5.9 per cent)
areas in 2011-12. The rate in urban areas for Christians stood at 8.6 per cent
in 2004-05 while the rural rate stays constant.Speaking to The Hindu,
Alakh Sharma, Director of Institute of Human Development, said: “Unemployment
level in India is highest among those people who are richer and more educated.
The reason is that poor people can’t afford to stay unemployed, and hence, opt
for any kind of work, irrespective of the nature of the job. The better off
have the capacity to be unemployed as they look for the right job. Christians
are the most educated group, hence unemployment rate is higher among them.”
Data from the report supports the claim. ‘
Among the persons of age 15
and above, the proportion of people who are not literates was the lowest for
Christians. Also, the proportion of persons with educational level secondary
and above is highest for Christians.While the unemployment rate in rural areas
has decreased for Sikhs (from 3.5 to 1.3 per cent) — now the lowest across all
religious groups — it has slightly increased for Muslims (from 2.3 to 2.6 per
cent). At 3.3 per cent, Hindus have the lowest unemployment rate in urban
areas.Self-employment is the major source of income for almost half the
households, across all religious groups, in rural areas, followed by casual
labour.In urban areas, the proportion of households deriving major income from
regular wage or salary earnings is the highest. Half the Muslim households in
urban areas have self-employment as major source of income, the highest among
all religions, while regular wage or salary earnings was the highest for
Christians with 45.8 per cent households.
Prof. John Kurakar
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