See Full Document Text
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2349
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
2349. SHRI PRAMOD TIWARI:
Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the unemployment rate among male and female graduates and
post graduates in the formal sector during the last five years;
(b) the criteria laid down to classify individual as employed or
unemployed;
(c) whether Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has been
revamped;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the efforts being made by Government to improve employability
of individuals?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)
(a) to (e): 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 available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated
Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for graduate males of age 15
years and above was 13.1% in 2020-21, 12.8% in 2021-22, 11.2% in
2022-23 and 10.6% in 2023-24 and the estimated UR for graduate
females was 24.5%, 22.4%, 20.6% and 20.4% during the same period.
Also, the estimated UR on usual status for post-graduate males of
age 15 years and above was 9.0% in 2020-21, 8.1% in 2021-22, 8.8% in
2022-23 and 7.0% in 2023-24 and the estimated UR for post-graduate
females was 20.1%, 19.0%, 18.7% and 22.5% during the same period.
Detailed criteria & gender-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 .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.
Employment generation coupled with improving employability is
a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing
various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country.
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].
*****