Lok Sabha Question No. 3 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-01
Subject: National Employment Rate
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 03 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01 ST  DECEMBER, 2025

## NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT RATE

03.      SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

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

- whether the Government is aware that the national unemployment rate has slightly increased to 5.2 per cent in September 2025 from 5.1 per cent in August 2025, with rural unemployment rising from 4.3 per cent to 4.6 per cent and urban unemployment from 6.7 per
- (a) cent to 6.8 per cent and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether similar trends have been observed by the Government in the State of Maharashtra, particularly in rural and urban districts;
- (c) if  so,  the  details  of  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to address the rise in rural unemployment in Maharashtra, especially among youth and women/SC/ST;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  evaluated  the  effectiveness  of employment generation schemes in the State of Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e) whether  the  Government  proposes  any  special  initiatives to support job creation in Maharashtra's industrial, agricultural and services  sectors  in  light  of  the  national  unemployment  trends showing a fall from 6.0 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 202324 and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the other steps taken by the Government  to enhance job opportunities for women, SC and ST categories in both rural and urban regions in the country?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a)  to  (f):  The  official  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.

As  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  reports,  the  estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24.

Also, MoSPI has revamped PLFS from January 2025. As per monthly PLFS reports, the Unemployment Rate (UR) on Current Weekly    Status (CWS) for persons of age 15 years and above was 5.1% in August 2025 & 5.2% in September 2025, rural unemployment was 4.3% and 4.6 % and urban  unemployment  was  6.7%  and  6.8%  during  the  same  period. Changes  are  expected  in  the  monthly  PLFS  ratios  due  to  increased frequency and seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends.

However, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for  persons  of  age  15  years  and  above  in  Maharashtra  has  decreased from 4.8% in 2017-18 to 3.3% in 2023-24. Also, Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in Maharashtra for rural areas has decreased from 3.2% in 2017-18 to 2.1% in 2023-24 and in urban areas has decreased from 7.4% to 5.2% during the same period.

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 Maharashtra to boost the participation of all (including women, SC and ST categories in both rural and urban regions). These inter-alia include  Prime  Minister's  Employment  Generation  Programme  (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),  Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Pradhan Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY),  Rural  Self  Employment  and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deen Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAYNULM), PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Stand-up India Scheme, Start Up India ,Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY),  etc.  The  details  of  various employment generation schemes/programmes being implemented by the at

Government may be seen https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes\_programmes.

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.

To enhance the employability of female workers, the Government is providing  training  to  them  through  a  network  of  Women  Industrial Training Institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes.

AICTE also offers meritorious women engineering students' scholarships  such  as  PRAGATI  and  Saraswati,  thereby  fostering  a supportive environment for women in these disciplines.

In addition to the above, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  has  also  launched  AI  Career  for  Women Initiative  in  April  2025  where  over  a  period  of  two  years,  training  and enabling  economic  opportunities  for  girls  would  be  the  focus  of  the programme.

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing 'Palna' component under Mission Shakti for all States/UTs, under which providing day care facilities and protection of children is the main focus area.  Under  Palna,  Ministry  has  extended  free  services  of  childcare through Anganwadi cum Creches (AWCC).

Government  has  also  launched  'NAVYA'  (Nurturing  Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls) with an aim to equip  adolescent  girls  aged  16  to  18  years  with  vocational  training mainly in non-traditional and emerging job roles.

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].

Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment  is  also  implementing  the 'Welfare  of  SC/ST  jobseekers  Scheme'  through  the  network  of  25 National  Career  Service  Centres  for  SC/ST  (NCSC-SC/STs)  across  the country  to  enhance  the  employability  of  SC/ST  jobseekers  through  pre and computer training etc. with a view to prepare them to meet the demands recruitment training, vocational guidance, career counselling of the labour market.

Also, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJ&E)launched the Pradhan Mantri -Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi  (PM-DAKSH)  Scheme  in  2020-21,  for  providing  skill  training  to SCs,  OBCs,  EWSs,  DNTs,  Safai  Karamcharis  including  Waste  Pickers through the empaneled training institutes and make them employable in both wage-employment and self-employment.

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 a paid maternity leave of 26 weeks, provision for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, etc.

Further,  the  Code  on  Occupational  Safety,  Health  and  Working Conditions (OSH), 2020 has the provisions that women shall be entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work and they may be employed, with their consent before 6 am and beyond 7 p.m. subject to such conditions relating to safety, holidays and working hours or any other conditions to be  observed by the employer as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.

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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