Lok Sabha Question No. 312 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Status of Employment Opportunities in Rural Areas
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Dr. Nishikant Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 312

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02 ND  FEBRUARY, 2026

## STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL AREAS

## 312.     DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

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

- (a) whether the Government has recently undertaken any survey/study  regarding  the  employment  opportunities  in  rural areas of the country;
- (b) if  so,  the details thereof and the number of individuals who have migrated from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment during the last three years and  the current-year, year  and State/UT-wise, especially in Jharkhand;
- (c) whether the Government has introduced any schemes/projects/initiatives for increasing employment opportunities  in  rural  areas  of  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (d) the total number of beneficiaries of such schemes/projects/initiatives  during  the  last  three  years  and  the current year, year and State/UT-wise;
- (e) whether the Government has taken/proposes to take any steps for introduction  of  job-fairs,  employment  portals  and  other  such events/programmes to provide jobs to youths in rural areas of the country; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof, especially in Santhal Pargana  of Jharkhand?

## ANSWER

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

( a)  to  (f):  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. The survey period is July to June every year.

As  per  the  data  available  in  latest  Annual  PLFS  Reports,  the employment, including  rural  areas,  on  usual  status  for  persons  of  age  15  years  and estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR), indicating above during 2021-22 to 2023-24 were as follows:

(in %)

| Year    |   Rural |   Total |
|---------|---------|---------|
| 2021-22 |    55.6 |    52.9 |
| 2022-23 |    59.4 |    56   |
| 2023-24 |    62.1 |    58.2 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The above data indicates that the employment has increasing trend in the country.

The  Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment  has  launched  eShram portal,  on  26th  August,  2021.  It  has  been  made  available  to  the States/UTs for registration of unorganised workers, including migrant workers, on eShram portal. It also allows an unorganised worker to register on the portal on a self-declaration basis. The main objective of the eShram portal is to create a national database of unorganized workers, including migrant workers, seeded with Aadhaar, and  facilitate  registration  under  existing  Social  Security  and  Welfare Schemes to such workers. As on 28.01.2026, 31.48 crores workers have registered on this portal.

Employment  generation  coupled  with  improving  employability  of the  youth  is  a  priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly,  Government  is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the  country  including  rural  areas.  The  details  of  various  employment generation schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes.

Job fair is one of the steps towards fulfilment of the Commitment of the  Government  to  accord  highest  priority  to  employment  generation amongst  youth.  Regular  Job  Fairs  are  being  organized  under  various schemes by the State Governments/ Ministries/ Departments.

Job  fairs  are  primarily  intended  to  facilitate  linkage  between jobseekers  and  local  employers,  so  as  to  address  local  employment requirements.  Such  fairs  focus  on  employment  opportunities  aligned with local labour market demand. Till date, a total of 2359 job fairs have been  organized  in  Jharkhand  under  the  National  Career  Service  (NCS) project, in which 9141 employers have participated. Notifying final hiring figures is not a mandatory requirement on NCS portal.

Additionally, The 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  job search  &  matching,  information  on  online  &  offline  job  fairs,  career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill  development courses, skill/training programmes  etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in].

National Career Service (NCS) portal has also been integrated with e-Shram portal, which is a database of 31.48 crore unorganized workers. Through  this  integration,  e-Shram  registrants  can  avail  all  services available on the NCS portal.

Ministry  has  entered  into  strategic  Memoranda  of  Understanding (MoUs) with private partners such as job portals, placement organizations and reputed institutions in order to enhance the visibility and access to the job opportunities from the reputed and top companies. These MoUs  have been instrumental in expanding outreach and providing greater access to diverse employment opportunities for youth across the country including Jharkhand.

Further, under the NCS project, in collaboration with States/Institutions, Government has approved 407 Model Career Centres (MCCs) across the country. These centres connect local youth and other job-seekers with job opportunities through Job fairs, NCS portal as well as career counselling and training.

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