As many as 7000 engineering graduates have applied for the post of sanitary workers in Tamil Nadu, underlining, yet again, the unemployment crisis in the country.
Last week, an ongoing recruitment drive in Bihar had made national headlines when it was reported that over five lakh graduates, including engineers, MBA and PhD degree holders had applied for the posts of gardener, sweeper and gatekeeper.
On Friday, media reports said engineers and diploma holders in thousands have applied for the 549 posts of sanitary workers in the city corporation in Coimbatore.
Reports said that during the verification of the applications, it was found that the applicants comprised mostly engineers, postgraduates, graduates and diploma-holders.
There were some candidates who were employed in private firms, drawing a meagre salary of Rs 6000-Rs 7000. For them, the salary of Rs 20,000 as a sanitary worker was simply too enticing to ignore. The deluge of applications from over-qualified candidates has left the administration in a fix.
Unemployment rate:
According to the latest data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the unemployment rate in urban centres still hovers at around 10 per cent, though there has been a marginal drop during the January-March 2019 quarter.
The urban unemployment rate (UR) was 9.9 per cent in April-June 2018, 9.7 per cent in July-September 2018 and 9.9 per cent in October-December 2018.