Lok Sabha Question No. 2391 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Unemployment Rate in Assam
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri K Sudhakaran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2391

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2025

## UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN ASSAM

## 2391.      SHRI K SUDHAKARAN:

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

- the details of the current estimated overall unemployment rate in Assam according to the last two reporting periods of the Periodic Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  and  its  comparison  to  the  national
- (a) average during the same periods;
- (b) the details of the estimated unemployment rate in percentage in Assam, specifically for the last available reporting period in rural and urban areas, gender and age-wise;
- (c) the details of the specific measures taken by the Government in collaboration with the Government of Assam to address the rising unemployment among women and the educated youth in the said State; and
- (d) whether the Government  has initiated any specialised skill development  or  employment  generation  schemes  tailored  to  the economic requirements  and  geographic  constraints  of  the  North Eastern Region and if so, the details thereof?

## 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 persons aged 15 years and above was 3.2% during 2022-23 and 2023-24. In the State of Assam, the corresponding  UR  was  1.7%  in  2022-23  and  3.9%  in  2023-24.  During 2023-24, the UR was 3.6% and 3.5% for rural male and female whereas 5.7%, 11.8% for urban male and female respectively.

Age-wise  details  of  the  estimated  Unemployment  Rate  (UR)  on usual  status  are  available  in  the  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS) at reports, which may be accessed https://www.mospi.gov.in/publications-reports.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability (including for women and educated youth of Assam) is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment  generation  schemes  across  the  country  (including  North Eastern Region). 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  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 (including  Assam)  to  get  future  ready,  equipped  with  industry  relevant skills.

Further, to facilitate credit access for the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises  (MSME)  &  Micro  Finance  sectors  in  the  North  Eastern Region, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has been  providing annual budgetary allocation to North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi), a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) under administrative control of MDoNER, in the form of an  interest  free  loan  under  the  North  East  Enterprise  Development Scheme  (NEEDS)  for  the  period  2021-22  to  2025-26,  with  a  total allocation of Rs. 300 crore

The  Prime  Minister's  Development  Initiative  for  North  Eastern Region  (PM-DevINE)  Scheme  is  a  Central  Sector  initiative  aimed  at funding infrastructure, supporting need-based social development projects, enabling livelihood activities for  youth  and  women,  and addressing  development  gaps  across  various  sectors  in  the  North Eastern Region including Assam.

In  addition,  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]

A  number  of  protective  provisions  have  been  incorporated  in  the labour  laws  for  equal  opportunity  and  congenial  work  environment  for women workers. The Code on Social Security, 2020 has the provisions for  paid  maternity  leave  of  26  weeks,  provision  for  mandatory  crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, etc.

The Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions (OSH&WC) Code, 2020 permits the employment of women in all establishments and for  all  types  of  work.  It  further  allows  women,  with  their  consent,  to work  between  7:00  pm  and  6:00  am,  subject  to  conditions  relating  to their safety, working hours, and holidays.

The Code also mandates that establishments must ensure adequate safeguards and protective measures before deploying women in any hazardous or dangerous processes.

The  Union  Budget  (2024-25)  announced  setting  up  of  working women hostels in collaboration with industry, and establishing crèches, for increasing participation of women in the workforce.

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