Unemployment continues to be a major concern for Indians, global citizens for third straight month: Report

Unemployment sits right at the top, as the biggest worry for Indians as well as the global citizens, three months in a row – from May to June and now in July too — as per the latest findings of What Worries the World, a monthly global survey. But there are some happy tidings for India. The country continues to buck the global trend of pessimism, with at least 73 percent of Indians optimistic that it is heading in the right direction, said a survey by Ipsos, an independent market research company. [caption id=“attachment_6965391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The world view, on the contrary, is highly pessimistic, with at least 58 percent of global citizens believing their respective countries are on the wrong track. Further, of the 27 markets covered in the survey, at least 23 markets feel they are on the wrong track. As per the survey, the markets most buoyant are China (at 94 percent), Saudi Arabia (78 percent), India (73 percent) and Malaysia (60 percent). And the markets most pessimistic about the course their country is traversing were largely, Great Britain (78 percent), France (77 percent), South Africa (74 percent), Belgium (74 percent), Spain (69 percent) and Hungary (68 percent). Optimism apart, there are a number of issues worrying Indians, in July 2019. Top issues worrying Indians Unemployment continues to be the biggest worry of Indians. For the past 3 months in a row, unemployment continues to take pole position in the list of top worries, without any reprieve. The top five issues worrying Indians are – unemployment (46 percent), crime and violence (37 percent), financial & political corruption (34 percent), terrorism (29 percent) and poverty and social inequality (28 percent).

“Indians on one hand are highly optimistic about the direction the country is going in, at the same time, unemployment is the niggling worry, without any let-up. At the same time, some of the concerns have shown marginal improvement over last round – financial and political corruption is down by 5 percent, terrorism by 2 percent and poverty and social inequality by 1 percent. All these issues need govt’s attention and intervention,” says Parijat Chakraborty, country service line leader, public affairs and corporate reputation, Ipsos India. Top 5 issues at global level attaining gargantuan proportions? Unemployment sits right at the top (32 percent), followed by poverty and social inequality (32 percent), crime & violence (31 percent), financial & political corruption (30 percent) and healthcare (26 percent).

Issues that rattle Indians are predominant in some other markets as well. Unemployment is the most pronounced for South Korea (64 percent) and South Africa (62 percent) and least for Germany (8 percent), Poland (9 percent) and the US (10 percent). India is placed 7th in the pecking order. Crime and violence are the most nightmarish for Mexico (66 percent), South Africa (62 percent) and Peru (60 percent). India is 9th in the pecking order. Political and financial corruption is a huge worry for South Africa (60 percent), Russia (57 percent), Peru (56 percent) and Hungary (53 percent). India is placed 12th in the pecking order. Terrorism – nations most worried about the scourge of the menace were – Israel (45 percent), India (29 percent), Turkey (23 percent), France (21 percent) and the US (17 percent). Poverty and social inequality were found to be bigger issues for Russia (60 percent), Serbia (52 percent), Hungary (46 percent) and Germany (45 percent). India is much lower in the global pecking order, is placed 18th.