Q.What is meant by 'jobless growth'? Why has it become a concern for the Indian economy?

Jobless growth occurs when GDP grows at a healthy rate but employment does not grow proportionately, leaving many workers in low-paying, insecure, informal jobs — a concern because it undermines inclusive growth. …

Jobless growth describes a situation in which an economy's output (GDP) grows at a healthy rate, but employment generation — particularly formal-sector employment — does not increase proportionately. In other words, the economy is producing more, often with the help of capital-intensive technology and improved productivity, but is not creating enough new jobs to absorb the growing workforce, including new entrants such as young graduates.

This has become a genuine concern for the Indian economy for several reasons:

• A large and growing working-age population needs productive employment; if job creation lags behind growth, a demographic advantage can instead become a source of unemployment and underemployment.
• Workers who cannot find adequate formal employment often end up in low-paying, insecure, informal work, which lacks stable earnings and social security.
• Jobless growth undermines the goal of inclusive growth, since the benefits of a rising GDP are not translating into broad-based improvement in employment and living standards. …

Students sometimes explain jobless growth as 'no growth at all,' which is incorrect — the defining feature is that GDP DOES …