Lok Sabha Question No. 4887 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Lack of Employment Opportunities
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Rakesh Rathor

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

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4887

TO BE ANSWERED ON 23 RD  MARCH, 2026

## LACK OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

## 4887.     SHRI RAKESH RATHOR:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that there has been a significant increase in the number of registered unemployed in the country during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, year and State/UT-wise and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  survey,  study  or assessment regarding the decline in employment opportunities in various sectors during the said period; and
- (d) if so, the key findings of such survey/study and the steps taken by the Government to boost employment generation during the said period?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d):  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 in the country was 4.2% in 2020-21, 4.1% in 2021-22 and 3.2% in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above  was  52.6%,  52.9%,  56.0%  and  58.2%  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/publicationsreports.

The  KLEMS  (K:  Capital,  L:  Labour,  E:  Energy,  M:  Materials  and  S: Services)  database  published  by  Reserve  Bank  of  India's  (RBI)  covers  27 industries comprising of the entire Indian economy and provides employment  estimates  across  27  industries.  As  per  the  latest  data,  total estimated  employment  in  the  country  has  increased  to  64.33  crores (Provisional)  during  2023-24  as  compared  to  47.15  crores  during  2014-15, which indicates a growth of 36.44% during the 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. 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].

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