Youth in West Bengal: economy, jobs, education, and skills

West Bengal has a population of about 10.05 crore across 23 districts, with roughly 2.43 crore young people aged 15 to 29.

In West Bengal, labour force participation is 63.7% and unemployment is 3.1%.

23.4% of working young people hold regular jobs, 51.5% are self-employed, 25.0% work in casual employment.

By sector, agriculture employs 36.4% of the workforce.

Per capita income is Rs 1.6 lakh per year; there are 2175295 registered MSMEs per 10,000 residents; manufacturing accounts for 25.6% of those MSMEs and services for 74.4%.

The EPFO-covered formal sector accounts for about 7% of the labour force, across 48,652 registered establishments.

In the Class 10 National Achievement Survey 2021, students in West Bengal averaged 42.7% (53.0% in English, 35.0% in mathematics); secondary enrolment in classes 9 to 12 is 75.0%.

Government-funded short skill courses under PMKVY in West Bengal most often train young people as Sewing Machine Operator, Street Food Vendor- Standalone, Assistant Electrician.

The most-taken Industrial Training Institute (ITI) trades by admission are Electrician (NSQF), Fitter (NSQF), Welder (NSQF).

See West Bengal district-by-district Y-POWER scores · Find government schemes for youth in West Bengal · How this data is calculated

Districts in West Bengal