In a recent report titled Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024, the International Labour Organization has presented evidence to suggest that the number of adults engaged in low-paid employment in South Asia has increased between 2010 and 2024. Low-paid employment is defined as jobs that pay less than two-thirds of the median monthly wage rate prevailing in the country. The data for South Asia, including India, show that during the period under study, the percentage of workers in low-paid jobs had increased by a percentage point from 20% in 2010. On the other hand, in an affluent country like the United States of America, while 30% of jobs were categorised as low-paid in 2010, their proportion had reduced to 26.3%. The trends in the two continents are evidently in opposite directions. The report also warns about the level of youth unemployment globally. Currently, the figure of 15- to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training stands at 13%. This is indicative of wasted human resources who are likely to become marginalised in the social order. An overwhelming majority of the youth with low-paid jobs are unlikely to be able to move up the income ladder over time; they thus cannot expect security and dignity in their careers.

Generating adequate employment is arguably the most important concern in all economies, especially the ones like India’s with a huge population of young adults. Massive investments are required in job-intensive sectors for this to happen. The flow of such investments may be estimated to be so large that a serious plan may be required for the public sector and the private sector to cooperate. However, the the private sector's preference is to go for cutting-edge technologies to replace old jobs and livelihoods. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, automation is expected to replace several kinds of jobs now done by human employees. Every country is thus looking at massive job cuts and obsolescence in the next 5 to 10 years. The new jobs that will be created by the new technologies will be fewer in number and would need specialised skills. People displaced from the labour market, or those unable to enter it, will require income support. The richer countries are more likely to instal schemes like universal basic income. Poorer countries like India will find it more difficult to do so given their fiscal constraints and large populations. A way out of the looming crisis must be found urgently.