Parliament Question: Youth unemployment and underemployment rates

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2350 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026 YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES

2350. SMT. JEBI MATHER HISHAM:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

(a) State/UT-wise youth (15–29 years) unemployment and underemployment rates;

(b) State/UT-wise number of educated youth classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and trends during the last five years;

(c) whether higher unemployment has been noted among graduates compared to less educated youth, if so, action taken and outcomes;

(d) State/UT-wise details of industries and non-farm jobs created during the last five years in districts reporting high youth unemployment; and

(e) State/UT-wise details of youth provided apprenticeship opportunities under National Apprenticeship Promotion scheme and National Apprenticeship Training scheme since inception, including enrolment, completion, placement, funds released and stipend disbursed? 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 Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years has decreased from 17.8% in 2017-18 to 10.2% in 2023-24 in the country. Also, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years has increased from 31.4% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24Further, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years of different general education level during 2017-18 and 2023-24 is as follows:

Unemployment Rate (in %) General Education Level 2017-18 2023-24 Literate & Upto Primary 8.3 2.6 Middle 13.7 4.2 Secondary 14.4 4.9 Higher Secondary 21.1 8.8 Graduate 35.8 25.9 Secondary & above 25.4 15.4

Source: PLFS, MoSPI The above data shows that the Unemployment Rate for different general education level has also decreased over the years. 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.

The KLEMS (K: Capital, L: Labour, E: Energy, M: Materials and S:

Services) database published by Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) covers 27 industries comprising of the entire Indian economy and provides employment estimates across 27 industries. As per the latest data, total estimated employment in the country has increased to 64.33 crores (Provisional) during 2023-24 as compared to 47.15 crores during 2014-15, which indicates a growth of 36.44% during the period.

The Government of India, under the Apprentices Act, 1961, implements two flagship Central Sector schemes—National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), launched in August 2016 and continued as NAPS-2 from 2022-23 by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) launched in 1973 by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and approved for its continuation up to 2025-26. Together, these schemes support apprenticeship engagement across the country. In the calendar year 2025, apprentices engaged under NAPS and NATS are

11.84 lakh and 5.23 lakh respectively. State/UT-wise information may be seen at the website of Skill India at

https://www.apprenticeshipindia.gov.in/ . *****