Income Patterns of Rural Youth in Punjab: An Empirical Study

This paper investigates to find income pattern and sources of income of rural youth in Punjab. By using primary data which is collected through survey of 550 rural youth respondents of three districts of Punjab, this paper examines the pattern of income according to the employment status. For this purpose we randomly selected youth respondents between ages 15-29 year and collected the information regarding the employment activity and income earnings from particular activity. The study makes an attempt to find out the affect of education, nature of employment, type of employment on earnings of rural youth workers. The study finds that education is a significant determinant of employment and also influences the level of income. Nature and type of employment activities are the main causes of difference in income. Regular and salaried workers earn more than the casual workers. Study suggest that to promote employment opportunities, government should improve the level of education by providing technical trainings and encourage the youth for self employment business.