Parliament Question: Unemployment amongst Youth

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4905 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23RD MARCH, 2026 UNEMPLOYMENT AMONGST YOUTH 4905. SHRI BAPI HALDAR: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of the number and current weekly status of the unemployed youths aged 15 to 29 years in urban and rural areas in the country, since 2025, month and State/UT-wise; (b) whether it is a fact that urban unemployment rate is at 14.7 per cent and at 20.1 per cent for women as per International Labour Organisation (ILO); and (c) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (c): 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. Also, MoSPI has revamped PLFS from January 2025. The PLFS has been conducted on annual basis since 2017 and with quarterly urban estimates from 2018. Additionally, monthly as well as quarterly rural estimates are released by MoSPI since January, 2025. Changes are expected in the monthly PLFS ratios due to increased frequency and seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends. As per the latest Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years has decreased from 16.6% in 2017-18 to 8.5% in 2023-24 in the rural areas of the country and from 20.6% to 14.7% in the urban areas of the country during the same period. State/UT-wise, area-wise and month-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. As per latest available the India Employment Report 2024 brought out by ILO –IHD (International Labour Organisation-Institute of Human Development), the unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above was 6.3% in 2022 in urban areas of the country and 3.3% for female in the country during the same period. *****