4 days ago
Bihar Youth Seek Government Jobs Amid Low Workforce Participation
Many young people in Bihar want government jobs because they seem stable and predictable.
Large numbers of students are competing for a small number of positions.
For example, 3.2 lakh people took the latest exam for 1,298 posts.
But Bihar’s jobs problem is bigger than unemployment alone.
In 2025, only about one-third of young people were working or looking for work.
Across India, nearly half of young people were in the labour force.
This means many young people in Bihar are not entering the job market at all.
The figures suggest that the wider job market is not attracting young people as strongly as it does nationally.
Bihar’s government-job protests highlight the appeal of stable careers among young people.
The 71st BPSC CCE drew 3.2 lakh candidates for 1,298 posts.
Earlier BPSC examinations also attracted hundreds of thousands of candidates for relatively few positions.
Bihar’s youth unemployment rate was 12.1% in 2025.
Only 34.3% of Bihar’s 15–29-year-olds were in the labour force in 2025, compared with 46% nationally.
- Who
- Young people and students in Bihar, along with candidates for Bihar Public Service Commission examinations.
- What
- Students have protested over recruitment examinations, vacancies and the hiring process while competing heavily for government jobs.
- Where
- Bihar, India.
- When
- The latest reported labour-force and unemployment figures are for 2025; the latest examination cited is the 71st BPSC CCE.
- Why
- Government jobs are viewed as offering stable careers, while the wider labour market is not drawing as many young people into work or job searches.
Key facts
- Youth unemployment
- Bihar’s youth unemployment rate was 12.1% in 2025.
- Youth labour-force participation
- 34.3% of Bihar’s 15–29-year-olds were in the labour force in 2025.
- India comparison
- The corresponding labour-force participation rate across India was 46%.
- Participation gap
- Bihar was 11.7 percentage points below the national level in 2025.
- 71st BPSC CCE
- Around 3.2 lakh candidates appeared for 1,298 posts.
- 70th BPSC CCE
- Around 3.3 lakh candidates appeared for 2,035 posts.
- Earlier examinations
- The 67th, 68th and 69th BPSC CCEs drew about 4.8 lakh, 2.6 lakh and 1.9 lakh candidates, respectively.
Sources
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