Lok Sabha Question No. 1260 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Unemployment Rate Sharply Declined
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1260

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SHARPLY DECLINED

## 1260.   SHRI GHANSHYAM SINGH LODHI:

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

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  India's  unemployment  rate  has  sharply declined to a record low, a fall from 6.1 per cent in the fiscal year 2018 to 3.2 per cent in 2023;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  any  assessment  to understand the distribution of unemployment rates across different educational levels and States;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the measures taken/to be taken to address the issue of unemployment in the country?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a)  to  (d):  The  data  on  Employment  and  Unemployment  is  collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the Ministry of Statistics  and  Programme  Implementation  (MoSPI)  since  2017-18.  The survey period is July to June every year.

As  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  Reports,  the  estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years & above in the country during the period 2018-19 to 2022-23 are as follows:

| Years   |   UR (in %) |
|---------|-------------|
| 2018-19 |         5.8 |
| 2019-20 |         4.8 |
| 2020-21 |         4.2 |
| 2021-22 |         4.1 |
| 2022-23 |         3.2 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The data in the above table indicates that the unemployment rate in the country has a declining trend over the years.

As per the latest available Annual PLFS  Reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years & above at different level of education in the country during 2022-23 is as follows:

| Education level            |   UR (in %) |
|----------------------------|-------------|
| Not Literate               |         0.2 |
| Literate & upto Primary    |         0.5 |
| Middle                     |         1.7 |
| Secondary                  |         2.2 |
| Higher Secondary           |         4.6 |
| Diploma/Certificate course |        12.2 |
| Graduate                   |        13.4 |
| Post Graduate & above      |        12.1 |
| All                        |         3.2 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The  State/UT-wise  estimated  Unemployment  Rate  (UR)  on  usual status for the persons of age 15 years & above during the year 2022-23 are at Annexure.

Employment  generation  coupled  with  improving  employability  is the priority of the Government. Accordingly, the Government of India has taken  various  steps  to  reduce  the  unemployment  and  for  generating employment opportunities in the country.

Investments  in  Infrastructure  and  productive  capacity  have  a large multiplier impact on growth and employment. The budget of 2023-24 proposed to increase capital investment outlay steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of  GDP.  This  substantial  increase  in  recent  years  is  central  to  the government's efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation.

The  Government  of  India  has  announced  Aatmanirbhar  Bharat package  to  provide  stimulus  to  business  and  to  mitigate  the  adverse impact  of  Covid  19.  Under  this  package,  the  Government  has  provided fiscal  stimulus  of  more  than  Rupees  Twenty  Seven  lakh  crore.  This package comprises of various long term schemes/ programmes/ policies for making the country self-reliant and to create employment opportunities.

The  Aatmanirbhar  Bharat  Rojgar  Yojana  (ABRY)  was  launched with effect from 1st October, 2020 to incentivize employers for creation of new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid19  pandemic.  The  terminal  date  for  registration  of  beneficiaries  was 31.03.2022. Since inception of the scheme, till 23.09.2023, benefits have been provided to 60.47 lakhs beneficiaries under the scheme.

The Government is implementing Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) since June 01, 2020 to facilitate collateral free working capital loan to street vendors to restart their  businesses,  which  were  adversely  impacted  during  the  Covid-19 pandemic.  As  on  23.11.2023,  78.08  lakh  loans  have  been  sanctioned under the scheme.

Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY)  was  launched  by  the Government for facilitating self-employment. Under PMMY, collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh, are extended to micro/small business enterprises and  to  individuals  to  enable  them  to  setup  or  expand  their  business activities.  As  on  17.11.2023,  more  than  44.41  crore  loan  accounts sanctioned under the scheme.

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is being implemented by the Government with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore, for a  period  of  5  years  starting  from  2021-22  which  have  potential  for creating 60 lakh new jobs.

PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. This approach is powered by Clean Energy and Sabka  Prayas  leading  to  huge  job  and  entrepreneurial  opportunities  for all.

The Government of India is encouraging various projects involving substantial  investment  and  public  expenditure  on  schemes  like  Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Pt.  Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) etc. for employment generation. The Government is implementing a programme for skilling of rural youth for entrepreneurship development through Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs).

Further,  the  Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS),  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY),  Jan  Shikshan Sansthan  (JSS)  Scheme  and  Craftsman  Training  Scheme  (CTS)  through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to enhance the employability of youth.

Besides  these  initiatives,  various  flagship  programmes  of  the Government such as Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, Housing for All etc. are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities.

All these initiatives are expected to collectively generate employment in the medium to long term through multiplier-effects.

*****

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  of  part  (a)  to  (d)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred Question No. 1260 due for reply on 11.12.2023

State/UT-wise estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years & above during 2022-23

| S. No.                  | States/UTs        |   Unemployment Rate (in %) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|----------------------------|
| 1                       | Andhra Pradesh    |                        4.1 |
| 2                       | Arunachal Pradesh |                        4.8 |
| 3                       | Assam             |                        1.7 |
| 4                       | Bihar             |                        3.9 |
| 5                       | Chhattisgarh      |                        2.4 |
| 6                       | Delhi             |                        1.9 |
| 7                       | Goa               |                        9.7 |
| 8                       | Gujarat           |                        1.7 |
| 9                       | Haryana           |                        6.1 |
| 10                      | Himachal Pradesh  |                        4.3 |
| 11                      | Jharkhand         |                        1.7 |
| 12                      | Karnataka         |                        2.4 |
| 13                      | Kerala            |                        7   |
| 14                      | Madhya Pradesh    |                        1.6 |
| 15                      | Maharashtra       |                        3.1 |
| 16                      | Manipur           |                        4.7 |
| 17                      | Meghalaya         |                        6   |
| 18                      | Mizoram           |                        2.2 |
| 19                      | Nagaland          |                        4.3 |
| 20                      | Odisha            |                        3.9 |
| 21                      | Punjab            |                        6.1 |
| 22                      | Rajasthan         |                        4.4 |
| 23                      | Sikkim            |                        2.2 |
| 24                      | Tamil Nadu        |                        4.3 |
| 25                      | Telangana         |                        4.4 |
| 26                      | Tripura           |                        1.4 |
| 27                      | Uttarakhand       |                        4.5 |
| 28                      | Uttar Pradesh     |                        2.4 |
| 29                      | West Bengal       |                        2.2 |
| 30                      | A & N. Island     |                        9.7 |
| 31                      | Chandigarh        |                        4   |
| 32 D & N Haveli & Daman | & Diu             |                        2.5 |
| 33                      | Jammu & Kashmir   |                        4.4 |
| 34                      | Ladakh            |                        6.1 |
| 35                      | Lakshadweep       |                       11.1 |
| 36                      | Puducherry        |                        5.6 |
| All India               | All India         |                        3.2 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI