Report No. 1 counted the students India's colleges send out each year. This report asks what happens next: how many young graduates who want work cannot find it, and how that compares with young people who stopped studying earlier or took a diploma. It uses the newest official annual jobs survey, released by MoSPI on 27 March 2026.
Headline finding
22.3%
Of young graduates who are working or looking for work, more than one in five cannot find a job.
In India, unemployment rates among young people vary substantially by education level. In the 2025 PLFS data, 22.3% of young graduates aged 15–29 who are in the labour force are unemployed, compared with 9.9% of all young people in that age group. The rate is 24.7% among young postgraduates. Young women with graduate and postgraduate qualifications face particularly high unemployment rates. Young people with diploma or certificate qualifications have lower observed unemployment and a higher share in regular salaried employment than graduates, although these comparisons do not establish that one qualification route causes better outcomes.
The official survey does not break unemployment down by subject studied, so it cannot establish whether Arts, Commerce or Engineering graduates have better employment outcomes. The findings show that a degree alone does not guarantee employment.
Latest reading · April–June 2026. The most recent quarterly survey puts urban unemployment for all ages 15+ at 6.7% in April–June 2026 (6.6% the quarter before), and urban women's unemployment at 8.7%. These use the weekly measure, which reads higher than the annual figures in the rest of this report. Source: PLFS Quarterly Bulletin, April–June 2026, released 10 August 2026 [3].
Findings
Finding 1 Data
Unemployment rates are higher among young people with higher qualifications
Among people aged 15–29, the 2025 PLFS reports unemployment rates of 2.3% for those who are not literate, 4.6% for those whose highest education is middle school, 22.3% for graduates and 24.7% for postgraduates. The figures show a clear association between education level and measured unemployment in these categories; they do not establish that higher education causes unemployment.
24.7%
unemployment among young postgraduates, the highest of any education level (never schooled: 2.3%)
Unemployment rate by highest education completed, ages 15–29, 2025 (%)
Not literate
2.3
Up to primary
2.8
Middle
4.6
Secondary
5.5
Higher secondary
9.3
Diploma / certificate
13.8
Graduate
22.3
Postgraduate & above
24.7
Common scale of 0–30%. Usual status (ps+ss), rural + urban, persons. All young people: 9.9%. Source: PLFS Annual Report 2025, Appendix A, Table 21 (age group 15–29 years) [1].
Several factors may contribute to this pattern. Young people with fewer qualifications may enter available work sooner, while some graduates may spend longer searching for work that matches their qualifications. Differences in financial circumstances, job availability and the types of work people seek may also matter. The PLFS figures alone cannot establish how much each factor contributes.
Across all ages 15 and above, the gap narrows but remains: graduates 11.2%, postgraduates 10.0%, everyone 3.1% (Table 24 [1]).
Finding 2 Data
Young women face higher unemployment rates at graduate and postgraduate levels
Women make up the majority of India's graduates in Arts, Science and Commerce, as discussed in Report No. 1. The 2025 PLFS reports unemployment of 28.4% among women graduates aged 15–29, compared with 19.4% among men graduates. Among young postgraduates, the rates are 32.4% for women and 17.7% for men. These figures show a substantial gender gap in measured unemployment, but do not by themselves establish its causes.
28.4%
unemployment among young women graduates, vs 19.4% for men
Common scale of 0–40%. Usual status (ps+ss), rural + urban. Source: PLFS Annual Report 2025, Table 21 (age group 15–29 years) [1].
Finding 3 Data
Employment outcomes differ across qualification groups
Young people aged 15–29 whose highest qualification is a diploma or certificate course have a reported unemployment rate of 13.8%, compared with 22.3% among graduates. The calculated share of the labour force in regular salaried employment is 53.1% for diploma or certificate holders, 39.0% for graduates and 48.9% for postgraduates.
These are observed differences between qualification groups, not a controlled comparison of otherwise similar individuals. They do not establish that a diploma is generally a better choice than a degree. The most suitable route depends on the occupation, the specific qualification, the skills required and the opportunities available.
53.1%
of young diploma holders in the labour force have a regular salaried job (graduates: 39.0%)
Share of young people in the labour force with a regular salaried job, ages 15–29, 2025 (%)
Diploma / certificate
53.1
Postgraduate & above
48.9
Graduate
39.0
All young people
26.7
Common scale of 0–60%. Shares of the labour force (working + seeking work), calculated from Table 21 of the PLFS Annual Report 2025 [1].
What young people in the labour force are doing, by education, 2025 (%)
Status (ages 15–29)
Diploma / cert.
Graduate
Postgraduate+
All youth
Regular salaried job
53.1
39.0
48.9
26.7
Self-employed or family business
26.0
35.4
25.4
43.3
Casual labour
7.1
3.2
1.0
19.8
Unemployed
13.8
22.3
24.7
9.9
Columns may not add to exactly 100 because of rounding. The diploma group is a smaller sample (6,060 young people surveyed) than graduates (50,738), so its figures carry more uncertainty.
Finding 4 Data
Salaried jobs are scarce, and many lack basic protections
AISHE 2023–24 reports 7,775,555 undergraduate pass-outs from responding institutions. Approximately 92% of institutions responded to the survey. The reported total should therefore be understood as the survey's reported out-turn, rather than a complete count of every undergraduate completing a degree in India. The following figures describe India's broader labour market, not graduates alone. They provide context for the conditions graduates may encounter when entering work.
58.2%
of salaried employees outside agriculture have no written job contract
Common scale of 0–60%. All workers, usual status. Source: PLFS Annual Report 2025, Statement 7 [1].
23.6% of all workers hold a regular wage or salaried job. Most work is self-employment (56.2%) or casual labour (20.2%). (Statement 7)
43.0% of workers are still in agriculture. In towns and cities, the biggest employers are other services (26.3%), trade, hotels and restaurants (23.8%) and manufacturing (20.3%). (Statement 8)
58.2% of salaried employees outside agriculture have no written job contract, and 51.7% are not eligible for any social security benefit. (Statement 10)
₹22,699 a month was the reported average monthly earnings of regular wage/salaried employees under the current weekly status measure in 2025: ₹24,217 for men and ₹18,353 for women. (PLFS Annual Report 2025, Statement 11.)
The gap is not only between degrees and jobs. It is between the salaried, protected office job most graduates and their families expect and the work the economy actually offers.
Where students and parents can start
Treat a degree as the start, not the plan. A qualification is important, but it does not guarantee employment. Build relevant skills through practical projects, internships, communication practice and a portfolio of work. How to get your first job
Compare qualifications against specific career paths. The 2025 data show different employment outcomes across qualification groups, but do not establish that a diploma is universally better than a degree. Compare the occupations available, the skills required, the quality of the course and the opportunities it creates. Earning after 10th
Look beyond salary when evaluating a job. More than half of salaried employees outside agriculture have no written job contract. Before accepting an offer, check the employment terms, written contract, paid leave and applicable social security benefits, including EPF where relevant. Gig and field work guide
Support young women's access to opportunity. Young women with graduate and postgraduate qualifications face particularly high unemployment rates in the reported data. Access to relevant skills, work experience, career guidance and suitable employment opportunities deserves attention. The survey does not establish the causes of the gender gap. Guidance Hub for parents
Methodology & sources
Method
Every labour figure in this report comes from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2025, published by the National Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). It covers January–December 2025 and surveyed 2,70,472 households and 11,48,634 people. The "latest reading" box uses the PLFS Quarterly Bulletin for April–June 2026. Graduate counts come from AISHE 2023-24 (see Report No. 1). No predictive modelling was used. Figures reproduced from official publications are identified by their source, and derived percentages are explained below.
Unemployment rate is the share of people in the labour force (working or seeking work) who are unemployed. People who are studying or not seeking work are excluded.
Usual status (ps+ss) classifies a person by their main activity over the previous 365 days. Unless stated otherwise, every figure here uses this measure.
Youth means ages 15–29, as defined by PLFS.
Education level is the highest level successfully completed. "Graduate" means a completed bachelor's degree in any subject.
Derived figures: In Finding 3, the shares of the labour force in each employment category are calculated by dividing the relevant education-specific population share in PLFS Table 21 by the corresponding labour-force share. The ratios described as “more than twice” and “almost five times” compare graduate unemployment of 22.3% with the all-youth rate of 9.9% and the middle-school rate of 4.6%, respectively. Derived figures are calculations from published estimates, not independently measured values.
Limitations
No field of study. PLFS records education level, not subject. This report makes no claim about which stream leads to better employment.
Not comparable with earlier years. MoSPI redesigned the PLFS sample from January 2025 and states that 2025 estimates may not be strictly comparable with earlier annual reports. This report does not compare 2025 with earlier years.
Weekly and annual measures differ. The quarterly figure in the "latest reading" box uses the current weekly status measure, which reads higher than usual status. The two should not be compared directly.
Sample sizes vary. Estimates for smaller groups, such as diploma holders or young women postgraduates, rest on fewer survey respondents.
Unemployment is not the whole picture. Many employed graduates work in jobs below their qualification, which this survey does not measure.
Ahamed, S. (2026). The Career Choice Gap: Unemployment among young graduates and diploma holders in India, PLFS 2025. enaasan.online Research Report No. 2. https://enaasan.online/reports/career-choice-gap/
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