CAREER
Why are India's so-called 'Cockroaches' unemployed?
India's youth has taken up a new identity: 'cockroach'. This was a reaction to a statement by the Chief Justice of India, and the subsequent rise of the Cockroach Janta Party.
India's 367 million youth make up a third of its working-age population. Of them, 263 million can be a potential workforce.
But unemployment among the youth is 4x of non-youth, much higher than the global average, as per Azim Premji Unversity's State of Working India 2026.
Why is this happening?
- •JOB MARKET NOT KEEPING PACE WITH POPULATION: Between 2005 and 2023, while ~5 million graduates were added each year, only around 2.8 million found employment, as per the State of Working India 2026 Report. Unemployment among graduates is high. 11 million out of 63 million graduates between the ages of 20 to 29 were unemployed as of 2023.
- •AI THREAT IS REAL: A Moody’s report warns that an AI takeover of entry-level and mid-level service jobs—which drive 60% of urban employment—could trigger a hiring crisis for young job seekers.
- •STRUCTURAL MISMATCH?: A weak manufacturing sector can't absorb low-skilled labor, while advanced services have a skill barrier most can't clear.
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