Lok Sabha Question No. 122 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-01
Subject: Rising Unemployment and Policy Response
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Abhishek Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 122

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01 ST  DECEMBER, 2025

## RISING UNEMPLOYMENT AND POLICY RESPONSE

## 122.      SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE:

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

- (a) whether the Government has any data on unemployment rates in the country during the last five years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, rural and urban areas, gender, youth and State-wise and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether there  has  been  a  significant  rise  in  unemployment  rate among  women  and  youth,  if  so,  the  reasons  identified  and supporting details thereof;
- (d) the details of the immediate employment generation programmes being  implemented  by  the  Government  to  address  the  surge  in female and youth unemployment; and
- (e) the  details  of  the  progress  made  by  the  Government  under  the Schemes  such  as  Skill  India  Mission,  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY)  and  other  vocational  training  initiatives towards  upskilling  or  reskilling  workers  along  with  beneficiary data for the last five years in the country, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

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

As  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  reports,  the  estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons age 15 years and above was 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  for  the  youth  of  age  15-29  was  15.0%  in 2019-20,  12.9%  in  2020-21,  12.4%  in  2021-22,  10.0%  in  2022-23  and 10.2% in 2023-24.

Further,  as  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  Reports,  the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above disaggregated by rural and urban areas and genderwise during the years 2019-20 to 2023-24 are as follows:

| Year    | Rural   | Rural   | Urban   | Urban   |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| Year    | Male    | Female  | Male    | Female  |
| 2019-20 | 4.5     | 2.6     | 6.4     | 8.9     |
| 2020-21 | 3.8     | 2.1     | 6.1     | 8.6     |
| 2021-22 | 3.8     | 2.1     | 5.8     | 7.9     |
| 2022-23 | 2.7     | 1.8     | 4.7     | 7.5     |
| 2023-24 | 2.7     | 2.1     | 4.4     | 7.1     |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The data indicates that the Unemployment rate (including women and youth), has decreased over the period. The State/UT-wise estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status are available at https://www.mospi.gov.in/download- reports?main\_cat=ODU5&cat=All&sub\_category=All

Employment generation coupled with improving employability (including  for  women  and  youth),  is  a  priority  of  the  Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/programmes. These inter-alia include Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAYNRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deen Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NULM), 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 Government may be seen at 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.  Under  this  programme  so  far,  18.56 Lakh+ candidates have signed-up on the Future Skills PRIME Portal, out of which, 3.37 Lakhs+ candidates have completed their course.

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].

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.

The  detailed  progress  of  training  provided  under  PMKVY  in  the country is available at https://www.skillindiadigital.gov.in/pmkvydashboard.  As  a  result  of  the  concerted  effort  of  the  Government,  the percentage  of  persons  in  the  age-group  15-29  who  are  vocationally trained  (formal  and  informal)  has  increased  from  7.1%  in  2017-18  to 26.1% in 2023-24.

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.

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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