{
  "id": 2905382,
  "title": "What the young want, and why creating good jobs is no longer optional",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/what-the-young-want-and-why-creating-good-jobs-is-no-longer-optional",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-24T00:45:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/what-the-young-want-and-why-creating-good-jobs-is-no-longer-optional-10846499/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The aspirations of young job seekers in urban India are significant, with a majority seeking jobs that align with their ideal career paths. These job seekers overwhelmingly prefer salaried or formal-sector employment, with women being more inclined towards these positions than men. Contrary to popular belief, a significant number of men also desire private-sector salaried jobs, while only a small percentage of women prefer self-employment. Interestingly, despite the dominant narrative suggesting a strong preference for public-sector jobs, the reality shows a much lower proportion of urban workers in the public sector, with only one in every three employed 24-year-olds holding a salaried job. Even fewer are in the public sector or government jobs, while a large majority of those working are self-employed and have subsistence businesses that do not hire any workers. The gap between job seekers' salary expectations and actual earnings in urban India is considerable, with job seekers expecting up to 40% higher salaries than what is reported in the PLFS for the same occupations. Male job seekers, in particular, display greater optimism in salary expectations compared to women, anticipating salaries that are significantly higher than the actual average earnings for these jobs. This disparity in expectations could be attributed to factors such as lack of information or misinformation, inexperience with the job market, or a combination of both. To test the impact of accurate information on job seekers' expectations, researchers re-surveyed a random subset of the job seekers a year after providing them with real-world job opportunities and salaries. The results indicated that providing accurate information about job opportunities and salaries did significantly dampen job seekers' expectations of landing their ideal job. Men, in particular, were less likely to report that they were on their ideal career path after receiving this information. While the aspirations of these job seekers did not change, they did become more realistic. However, the desire to secure formal-sector jobs or become entrepreneurs remains steadfast, as these are long-term goals that are not easily altered. The cost of good-quality education in India is on the rise, and many job seekers feel that their aspirations are necessary to recover the high cost of education. Policymakers must acknowledge that this generation is demanding good career opportunities, and achieving this will require a major structural transformation of the economy. Creating \"good\" jobs and genuine career paths is no longer optional, as failing to do so risks squandering the potential of an entire generation.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Policymakers must now prioritize creating good jobs and genuine career paths to meet the aspirations of young urban Indians, or risk squandering the potential of an entire generation.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}