Parliament Question: Status of Employment in the Country

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3907 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16TH MARCH, 2026 STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY 3907. SHRI BENNY BEHANAN: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government admits that unemployment among youth has risen in recent years despite the claims of economic growth and if so, the reasons therefor; (b) whether the Government has discontinued or modified certain employment surveys leading to the concerns over transparency of job data in the country and if so, the reasons therefor; (c) the details of the unemployment rate in the country during the last five years and the current year, year and State/UT-wise, particularly in Kerala; (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to generate quality employment jointly with State Governments; (e) the details of the total number of vacancies in Central Government departments and PSUs at present; (f) whether the Government admits that delay in recruitment has worsened unemployment among educated youth and if so, the reasons therefor; (g) whether it is a fact that States have sought permission or support to fill vacancies but faced financial constraints and if so, the details thereof; and (h) the details of the time-bound plan to fill all sanctioned posts in the country? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (h): The official data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18.As per the latest Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years in the country has decreased 17.8% in 2017-18 to 10.2% in 2023-24. Also, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the country was 6.0% in 2017-18, 5.8% in 2018-19, 4.8% in 2019-20, 4.2% in 2020-21, 4.1% in 2021-22 and 3.2% in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and 11.4%, 9.0%, 10.0%, 10.1%, 9.6%, 7.0% and 7.2% in the State of Kerala during the same period. State/UT-wise information is available in the PLFS reports which may be seen at the website of MoSPI at https://www.mospi.gov.in/publications-reports . Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country (including Kerala). The details of various employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes. 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. 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. 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]. Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various Ministries/Departments (including PSUs), is a continuous process. Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government have been directed, from time to time, to fill up vacant posts in a time bound manner. The details of vacancies and recruitments are maintained by the respective Ministry/ Department/PSU etc. under Central Government. Vacant posts are being filled up in mission mode by various Ministries/ Departments, their attached organisations and CPSUs etc. Since October 2022, lakhs of appointment letters have been distributed through the Rozgar Melas organised at Central level in several cities across various States/ Union Territories. *****