Parliament Question: Rural Unemployment Statistics and Employment Initiatives

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2518 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03RD AUGUST, 2026 RURAL UNEMPLOYMENT STATISTICS AND EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES 2518. MS. MAHUA MOITRA: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of all-India rural Current Weekly Status unemployment rate as per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS); (b) the details of unemployment rate of youth aged 15 to 29 years in rural areas of the country as per the said survey; (c) whether the youth unemployment in the rural areas of the country remains in double digits and if so, the reasons therefor; (d) the trend in the said youth unemployment figure during the last five PLFS cycles; and (e) the details of specific employment generation schemes, with budget allocation, targeted at reducing rural youth unemployment in 2025-26? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (e): Official estimates of employment and unemployment in India are derived from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 2017–18. The PLFS methodology was revamped with effect from January 2025. The PLFS Annual Report 2025 is the first report in the revised series to present labour market estimates, covering the period from January to December 2025. As per PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on current weekly status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 5.0% in 2022 to 4.6% in 2025 in the rural areas of the country. Also, the estimated UR for youth of age 15-29 years on usual status has decreased from 8.9% in 2022 to 8.3% in 2025 in the rural areas of the country. Further, the overall estimated UR for youth of age 15-29 years has decreased from 10.9% in 2022 to 9.9% in 2025 in the country.Employment generation coupled with improving employability for youth is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes like Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) etc. in the country (including for rural youth). The details of various employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes. Additionally, Government is also implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. The Ministry of MSME launched Udyam Registration Portal on 01.07.2020 for formalizing enterprises, expanding access to government support and strengthening the MSME ecosystem. A total of 8.9 crore Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been registered on Udyam Registration Portal, including Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), providing employment to over 39 crore people across the country. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated ‘FutureSkills PRIME’ a programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence. Also, the Government is implementing Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Further, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in]. *****