JAMMU, Mar 15: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the unemployment rate has come down in Jammu and Kashmir from 6.7 percent in 2019-20 to 6.1 percent in 2023-24. The unemployment rate is however, up in 2023-24 from 2022-23 when it was 4.4 percent.
Omar gave these figures in response to a written question in the Legislative Assembly by NC MLA and former Speaker Mubarak Gul who, however, claimed that as per his report the unemployment rate has gone up.The Chief Minister said the rate of unemployment was 6.7 percent in 2019-20 (15 years and above) which came down to 5.9 in 2020-21, 5.2 in 2021-22 and 4.4 in 2022-23 before rising again in 2023-24 to 6.1 percent.
The written reply was however, read by Rural Development Department and Agriculture Minister Javaid Dar, who also responded to supplementaries by the members.
The Government mentioned several steps taken to reduce unemployment which generated 9.58 lakh livelihood opportunities through various schemes.
As per the Government reply, improvement in unemployment rate is also reflected on the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Workers Population Ratio (WPR), which rose to 64.3 per cent and 60.4 per cent, respectively, in 2023-24, showcasing the enhanced employment opportunities and economic activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raising supplementaries, Mubarak Gul said the unemployment rate has gone up though the Government figures showed that it has declined.
Asserting lack of awareness on some of the Government schemes, he said till the awareness is done on ground the youth can’t avail benefits. He lamented that in some cases even a single post is referred to the Services Selection Board wasting their time. Only 5 or 10 posts should be referred, he said.
“The previous Omar Abdullah Government had given monthly honorarium to the youth like Rs 2,000 to Graduates, Rs 4,000 to Post Graduates and so on to doctors, engineers etc and this should be revised,” the NC member said and demanded setting up of the Overseas Corporation on the pattern of Kerala to assist the youth intending to visit European, Arabian and other neighbouring countries.
Responding to a query by Gul that whether the recruitment will be done on fast track, Dar said whichever vacancies are referred to the Government agencies for making selections, the recruitment will be fast-tracked. He assured the MLA that the concerned departments will be told to generate awareness among the youth on employment schemes.
BJP MLA from Chenani Balwant Singh Mankotia said that 40,000 posts are lying vacant in the Government departments and they should be filled expeditiously.
The Government reply said the steady decline in the unemployment rate together with the increases in LFPR and WPR reflects the success of targeted policies and initiatives aimed at boosting the labour market to sustain economic growth, further reduce unemployment, and elevate the overall quality of life for the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to the steps taken to boost employment generation, the Government stated said 11,526 selections have been made by the J-K Public Service Commission and J-K Services Selection Board in the past two years — 4,836 (1,141 by JKPSC and 3695 by JKSSB) in 2023, and 6,690 (1,034 by JKPSC and 56,756 by JKSSB) in 2024.
In the private sector, 45,688 unemployed youth were provided jobs in the industrial sector in 2022-23 (15,719) and 2023-24 (29,969).
In addition, 9.58 lakh self-employment opportunities were generated through schemes such as ‘Mumkin’, ‘Tejaswani’, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) in the last four years, the Government said, adding that 2,99,266 livelihood opportunities were created in 2021-22, 2,83,664 in 2022-23, 2,38,675 in 2023-24 and 1,36,165 in 2024-25 up to January this year.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 3.01 crore person-days were generated up to January 2025, providing employment to 8.07 lakh households.
The Government has also taken major initiatives with a focus on youth development, entrepreneurship, and livelihood generation.
The Government has initiated ‘Mission Yuva’ for self-employment and entrepreneurship to identify, support, and empower five lakh potential entrepreneurs through a structured and tech-enabled approach.
The key goals of this initiative are to create over 1,37,000 new enterprises across sectors and to generate 4.25 lakh employment opportunities over the five-year programme.
In the last four years, 246 job fairs were organized in which 4,893 placements were made by 2,760 companies, besides recommending 6,640 candidates for skill training.
The Government is also facilitating self-employment opportunities to job seekers through various line departments, the Government said, adding that it has started imparting skill development training across Jammu and Kashmir.
