A Jesuit priest blamed India’s political leaders for the reported frustration of the country’s workforce, said a report on the news site Matters India.
“I am not shocked but immensely sad and ashamed of my leaders who keep promising jobs at every election but never keep the promises,” the report quoted Jesuit priest Irudhaya Jothi.
The 54-year-old priest was reacting to new data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Private, a Mumbai-based research firm, that noted India’s job creation problem is morphing into a greater threat.
Frustrated at not being able to find the right kind of job, millions of Indians, particularly women, are reportedly exiting the labor force entirely.
Father Jothi said the government has no more works for the young and “the corporates who own most labor incentive sectors are mechanizing for their profit in the name of efficiency and outputs.”
“The concept of work — karma is dharma or work is religion — has no value in India where the culture has defined jobs according to one’s caste,” he told Matters India on April 25.
“The frustrated workforce still hopes for bright future and keeps voting for the government that keeps betraying them,” the Jesuit said.
“The truth will set you free, but the work force is confused and wondering, what is truth,” he added.
According to ndtv.com, the overall labor participation rate dropped from 46 percent to 40 percent between 2017 and 2022.
Among women, about 21 million disappeared from the workforce, leaving only nine percent of the eligible population employed or looking for positions.
Now, more than half the 900 million Indians of legal working age — roughly the population of the US and Russia combined — don’t want a job, according to the CMIE.
