Lok Sabha Question No. 142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Unemployment in Urban Areas
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Azad Kirti Jha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 142

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  JULY, 2025

## UNEMPLOYMENT IN URBAN AREAS

## 142.    SHRI AZAD KIRTI JHA :

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that the unemployment rate in urban areas has increased from 17.2 per cent in April to 17.9 per cent in May;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has been able to contain the unemployment rate from 2024 till date;
- (d) if so, the details thereof industry/sector/year-wise; and
- (e) the steps taken by the Government to increase employment along with the timeline set for in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

- (a)  to  (e):  The  data  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is  collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the 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  persons  of  age  15  years and above has decreased from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24.

Further,  as  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  reports,  the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above for urban areas has decreased from 7.7% in 2017-18 to 5.1% in 2023-24.

Also, MoSPI has revamped PLFS from January 2025. As per monthly PLFS reports, the Unemployment Rate (UR) on Current Weekly    Status (CWS) for persons of age 15 years and above in urban areas were 6.5% in April 2025 and 6.9% in May 2025. Changes are expected in the monthly PLFS ratios due to increased frequency and seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly,  Government  is  implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes. These inter-alia include  Prime  Minister's  Employment  Generation  Programme  (PMEGP), Deen  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana-National  Urban  Livelihoods  Mission (DAYNULM),  PM  Street  Vendor's  AtmaNirbhar  Nidhi  (PM  SVANidhi), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Startup India, Stand-Up India, etc. The  details  of  various  employment  generation  schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes.

Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  has been implementing its flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), since 2015 to impart skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT) and up-skilling and re-skilling through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to youth across the country with the to enhance the employability of youth by equipping them with industry relevant skills.

In  addition,  the  Union  Cabinet  has approved  the  Employment Linked  Incentive  (ELI)  Scheme  to  support  employment  generation, enhance  employability  and  social  security  across  all  sectors,  with special focus on the manufacturing sector.

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]. As on 30.06.2025, more than 6.2 crore (which inter-alia include Government, Private and Public Sector Undertaking) vacancies have been mobilised on NCS Portal.

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