Lok Sabha Question No. 3907 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-16
Subject: Status of Employment in the Country
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Benny Behanan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3907 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  MARCH, 2026

## STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY

## 3907.      SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government admits that unemployment among youth has risen in recent years despite the claims of economic growth and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  discontinued  or  modified  certain employment surveys leading to the concerns over transparency of job data in the country and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the details of the unemployment rate in the country during the last five years and the current year, year and State/UT-wise, particularly in Kerala;
- (d) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  generate quality employment jointly with State Governments;
- (e) the details of the total number of vacancies in Central Government departments and PSUs at present;
- (f) whether  the  Government  admits  that  delay  in  recruitment  has worsened  unemployment  among  educated  youth  and  if  so,  the reasons therefor;
- (g) whether it is a fact that States have sought permission or support to  fill  vacancies  but  faced  financial  constraints  and  if  so,  the details thereof; and
- (h) the details of the time-bound plan to fill all sanctioned posts in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (h):  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 in the country has decreased 17.8% in 2017-18 to 10.2% in 2023-24.

Also, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the country was 6.0% in 2017-18, 5.8% in 2018-19, 4.8% in 2019-20, 4.2% in 2020-21, 4.1% in 2021-22 and 3.2% in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and 11.4%, 9.0%, 10.0%, 10.1%, 9.6%, 7.0% and 7.2% in the State of Kerala during the same period. State/UT-wise information is available in the PLFS reports which may be seen at the website of MoSPI at https://www.mospi.gov.in/publications-reports .

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly,  Government  is  implementing various  employment  generation  schemes/  programmes  in  the  country (including Kerala). 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]. Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various Ministries/Departments (including PSUs), is a continuous process. Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government have been directed, from time to time, to fill up vacant posts in a time bound manner. The details of vacancies and recruitments are maintained by the respective Ministry/ Department/PSU etc. under Central Government. Vacant posts are being filled up in mission mode by various Ministries/ Departments, their attached organisations and CPSUs etc.  Since October 2022, lakhs of appointment letters have been distributed through the Rozgar Melas organised at Central level in several cities across various States/ Union Territories.

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