Lok Sabha Question No. 442 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Status of Employment
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 442

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02 ND  FEBRUARY, 2026

## STATUS OF EMPLOYMENT

## 442.      SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

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

- (a) the details of the recent data on the total number of unemployed individuals in the country, State/UT and age group-wise;
- (b) the details of the steps taken by the Government to address the increase in the unemployment rate;
- (c) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to enhance skill development and vocational training to address the skill gap contributing to unemployment;
- (d) the details of the measures taken/being taken by the Government to  support  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (SMEs)  to  generate employment opportunities;
- (e) whether the Government has conducted any study to assess the economic impact of the rising unemployment rate on the overall economy and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government has any long-term strategies to ensure sustainable employment growth to reduce unemployment rate and if so, the details thereof?

## 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  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 persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6.0% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24. State/UTwise  and  age-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 (including  for  youth)  is  a  priority  of  the  Government.  Accordingly, Government  is  implementing  various  employment  generation  schemes/ employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government programmes in the country. The details of various 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.

The Government of India, through the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium  Enterprises (MSME), implements  various schemes  for the promotion  and  development  of  MSMEs  across  the  country.  These schemes/programmes  include  Prime  Minister's  Employment  Generation Programme  (PMEGP),  Credit  Guarantee  Scheme  for  Micro  and  Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP),  Procurement  and  Marketing  Support  Scheme  (PMSS),  Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP), International Cooperation scheme,  Tool  Rooms,  Technology  Centre  System  Programme  (TCSP), National SC/ST Hub (NSSH), MSME Champions, PM Vishwakarma etc.

Further, Government has taken a number of initiatives to support the MSME Sector across the country. Some of these are the following:

-  Registration of MSMEs through ''Udyam Registration'' for Ease of Doing Business.
-  Integration  of  Udyam  Portal  and  National  Career  Service (NCS)  of  Ministry  of  Labour  &  Employment,  as  an  outcome  registered MSMEs are able to search for jobseekers on NCS.
-  Launch of Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) to bring the Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) under the formal ambit for availing the benefit under Priority Sector Lending (PSL).

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].

*****