Parliament Question: Unemployment Rate

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2341 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03RD AUGUST, 2026 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 2341. MS. S JOTHIMANI: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of unemployment rate during the last five years and the current year in the country, rural–urban, age, gender, year and State/UT-wise; (b) the details of major factors contributing to persistent unemployment especially among youth and educated jobseekers; (c) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of job losses in key sectors and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of corrective measures taken by the Government to reduce unemployment? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (d): 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 latest PLFS report 2025, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above was 3.6% in 2022, 3.1% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024 and 3.1% in 2025 in the country. Also, the estimated UR for persons of age 15 years and above was 2.8%, 2.4%, 2.5% and 2.4% in rural areas and 5.9%, 5.2%, 5.0% and 4.8% in urban areas during the same period.Further, the estimated UR for persons of age 15 years and above gender-wise in the country is as follows: Unemployment Rate (UR) Male Female 2022 3.7% 3.3% 2023 3.2% 3.0% 2024 3.3% 3.1% 2025 3.1% 3.1% Source : PLFS, MoSPI The estimated UR for youth of age 15-29 years on usual status has decreased from 10.9% in 2022 to 9.9% in 2025 in the country and the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) for educated persons of age 15 years and above during 2025 is as follows: Unemployment Rate (in %) Particulars 2025 not literate 0.3 literate & up to primary 0.6 middle 1.6 secondary & above 6.5 Source : PLFS, MoSPI Further, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 54.1% in 2022 to 57.4% in 2025 in the country. Year-wise, sector-wise, gender-wise, area-wise & 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 for youth is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes 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]. *****