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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4435
TO BE ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
4435. PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA:
Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government has compiled data on youth unemployment
rates in the country during the last five years;
(b) if so, the latest youth unemployment rate (ages 18-25) and how
it compares with the overall national unemployment rate;
(c) whether it is a fact that approximately 66 per cent of
unemployed individuals in the country are graduates or
postgraduates, as per recent labour force surveys; and
(d) if so, the specific measures taken by Government to address the
skill-employment mismatch affecting educated youth?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)
(a) to (d): 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
was 15.0% in 2019-20, 12.9% in 2020-21, 12.4% in 2021-22, 10.0% in
2022-23 and 10.2% in 2023-24.
Also, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for
persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6.0% in 2017-18
to 3.2% in 2023-24 in the country.
Further, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status
for graduates of age 15 years and above has decreased from 17.2% in
2017-18 to 13.0% in 2023-24 and from 14.6% to 12.4% for post
graduates during the same period.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].
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