Foreign Shores and Fading Dreams: The Great Indian Labor Exodus

Abstract

A vast majority of Indians earn their income through labor by working in the unorganized sector. About 90% of Indian working population earn their livelihood through informal employment which has no job security, no employment benefits, no social protection and survive with lower earnings. However desperate people are risking their lives to seek employment by migrating to other nations by taking up illegal route and signing up for risky jobs. Unemployment Rate in India increased to 8.30 percent in December from 8 percent in November of 2024. Unemployment Rate in India averaged at 8.18 percent from 2018 until 2024, reaching an all-time high of 23.50 percent in April of 2020 and a record low of 6.40 percent in September of 2022. According to the India Employment Report 2024, created jointly by the Institute for Human Development and the International Labor Organization (ILO), India's working population increased from 61 percent in 2011 to 64 percent in 2021, and it is projected to reach 65 percent in 2036. However, the percent of youth involved in economic activities declined to 37 percent in 2022. According to the latest Periodic Labor Force Survey the urban unemployment data for the age group 15-29 for the five quarters between January 2023 and March 2024, has ranged between 16.5 per cent and 17.6 per cent, with the latest January-March 2024 quarter posting a 17 per cent unemployment rate.  Given these conditions, it is natural that Indian youth are lured by promising careers abroad. A new wave of Indian workers is travelling to the West and the Gulf in search of better lives, some of them as illegal migrants. “Unemployment, systemic disorganization, peer pressure and fear of drug traps were compelling rural households to send their young to foreign shores,” according to a study. This situation had led to youth being exploited at foreign shores and incidents of unfair wages, exploitations, illegal immigration, etc are now being reported. This paper discusses all these issues and presents suggestions to handle these issues.