Lok Sabha Question No. 54 (STARRED), answered on 2023-07-24
Subject: Current Unemployment Rate
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Nusrat Jahan Ruhi, Deepak Baij

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*54

TO BE ANSWERED ON 24 TH  JULY, 2023

## CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

- *54.  MS. NUSSRAT JAHAN : SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ:
- Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:
- (a) the current unemployment rate in the country, the Rural and Urban area-wise;
- (b) the  details  of  States  where  unemployment  rate  has  risen  to  more than 10 percent, State-wise;
- (c) the details of the rate of unemployment in the country from July 2022 till date, month-wise and State-wise;
- (d) the reasons for continuous increase in the unemployment rate in the country  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  this problem; and
- (e) the details of candidates who have become over aged due to lack of adequate opportunities and Government Jobs?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

**

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *54  DUE  FOR  REPLY  ON  24.07.2023  BY  MS. NUSSRAT JAHAN: SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ: REGARDING 'CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE'

(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 & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 201718.  The  survey  period  is  July  to  June  of  next  year.  As  per  the  latest available Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in both rural and urban areas during the period 2019-20 to 2021-22 are as follows:

| Unemployment Rate (in %)   | Unemployment Rate (in %)   | Unemployment Rate (in %)   | Unemployment Rate (in %)   |
|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
| Years                      | Rural                      | Urban                      | Total                      |
| 2019-20                    | 3.9                        | 6.9                        | 4.8                        |
| 2020-21                    | 3.3                        | 6.7                        | 4.2                        |
| 2021-22                    | 3.2                        | 6.3                        | 4.1                        |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The  data  indicates  that  the  unemployment  rate  in  the  country  has  a declining trend over the years, in both Rural and Urban areas.

The  State/UT-wise  estimated  Unemployment  Rate  (UR)  on  usual  status for  persons  of  age  15  years  and  above  during  2019-20  to  2021-22  is  at Annexure.

As per the latest available Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) on usual status for various age groups during the period 2019-20 to 2021-22 is as follows:

| Worker Population Ratio (WPR) (in %)   | Worker Population Ratio (WPR) (in %)   | Worker Population Ratio (WPR) (in %)   | Worker Population Ratio (WPR) (in %)   |
|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Years                                  | 15-29 years                            | 15 years & above                       | 15-59 years                            |
| 2019-20                                | 34.7                                   | 50.9                                   | 53.9                                   |
| 2020-21                                | 36.1                                   | 52.6                                   | 55.7                                   |
| 2021-22                                | 36.8                                   | 52.9                                   | 56.3                                   |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The  data  indicates  that  the  employment  within  age  groups  as  well  as across all age-groups has an increasing trend over the years.

Employment  generation  coupled  with  improving  employability  is  the priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly,  the  Government  of  India  has taken various steps for generating employment 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  Covid-19 pandemic.  The  terminal date for registration of beneficiaries  was 31.03.2022. Since inception of the scheme, till 02.07.2023, benefits have been provided to 60.42 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 14.07.2023, 50.18 lakh loans have been disbursed 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 07.07.2023, more than 42.29 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.

Further, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 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.

****

Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *54 due for reply on 24.07.2023

## State/UT-wise details of Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above for the period 2019-20 to 2021-22

| S. No.    | States/UTs           |   2019-20 | 2020-21   | 2021-22   |
|-----------|----------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh       |       4.7 | 4.1       | 4.2       |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh    |       6.7 | 5.7       | 7.7       |
| 3         | Assam                |       7.9 | 4.1       | 3.9       |
| 4         | Bihar                |       5.1 | 4.6       | 5.9       |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh         |       3.3 | 2.5       | 2.4       |
| 6         | Delhi                |       8.6 | 6.3       | 5.3       |
| 7         | Goa                  |       8.1 | 10.5      | 12.0      |
| 8         | Gujarat              |       2   | 2.2       | 2.0       |
| 9         | Haryana              |       6.4 | 6.3       | 9.0       |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh     |       3.7 | 3.3       | 4.0       |
| 11        | Jharkhand            |       4.2 | 3.1       | 2.0       |
| 12        | Karnataka            |       4.2 | 2.7       | 3.2       |
| 13        | Kerala               |      10   | 10.1      | 9.6       |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh       |       3   | 1.9       | 2.1       |
| 15        | Maharashtra          |       3.2 | 3.7       | 3.5       |
| 16        | Manipur              |       9.5 | 5.6       | 9.0       |
| 17        | Meghalaya            |       2.7 | 1.7       | 2.6       |
| 18        | Mizoram              |       5.7 | 3.5       | 5.4       |
| 19        | Nagaland             |      25.7 | 19.2      | 9.1       |
| 20        | Odisha               |       6.2 | 5.3       | 6.0       |
| 21        | Punjab               |       7.3 | 6.2       | 6.4       |
| 22        | Rajasthan            |       4.5 | 4.7       | 4.7       |
| 23        | Sikkim               |       2.2 | 1.1       | 1.6       |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu           |       5.3 | 5.2       | 4.8       |
| 25        | Telangana            |       7   | 4.9       | 4.2       |
| 26        | Tripura              |       3.2 | 3.2       | 3.0       |
| 27        | Uttarakhand          |       7.1 | 6.9       | 7.8       |
| 28        | Uttar Pradesh        |       4.4 | 4.2       | 2.9       |
| 29        | West Bengal          |       4.6 | 3.5       | 3.4       |
| 30        | Andaman & N. Island  |      12.6 | 9.1       | 7.8       |
| 31        | Chandigarh           |       6.3 | 7.1       | 6.3       |
| 32        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli |       3   |           |           |
| 33        | Daman & Diu          |       2.9 | 4.2       | 5.2       |
| 34        | Jammu & Kashmir      |       6.7 | 5.9       | 5.2       |
| 35        | Ladakh               |       0.1 | 2.9       | 3.3       |
| 36        | Lakshadweep          |      13.7 | 13.4      | 17.2      |
| 37        | Puducherry           |       7.6 | 6.7       | 5.8       |
| All India | All India            |       4.8 | 4.2       | 4.1       |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI