Jammu, Mar 15: The government on Saturday informed the Assembly that there has been a significant decline in the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few years. The government highlighted various key policy initiatives and schemes aimed at boosting the industrial sector and creating new employment opportunities for the youth, alongside employment generation in the government sector.
In response to a query raised by MLA Mubarak Gull during the Assembly session, Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj, Javed Ahmad Dar, stated that the unemployment rate stood at 6.1% in 2023-24, compared to 4.4% in 2022-23. According to the statistics quoted from the Economic Survey of Jammu and Kashmir, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in 2021-22 and 5.9% in 2020-21. The unemployment rate was recorded at 6.7% in 2019-20.
“The statistics indicate an overall decrease in the unemployment rate, which stood at 6.7% in 2019-2020. The steady decline in the unemployment rate, along with the increase in the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratio (WPR), reflects the success of targeted policies and initiatives aimed at boosting the labour market, sustaining economic growth, further reducing unemployment, and improving the overall quality of life for citizens,” the government stated.
The Minister highlighted several initiatives by the government to boost employment generation in Jammu and Kashmir. He informed the Assembly that 11,526 selections had been made by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) in the past two years.
Regarding private-sector employment generation, the government stated that private employment has been created through the industrial sector via various steps taken under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and the Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP).
The government also provided details about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), revealing that 3.01 crore person-days of employment were generated up to January 2025, benefiting 8.07 lakh households.
Additionally, the Minister highlighted several government initiatives designed to improve workforce utilization, including MISSION YOUTH, MISSION YUVA, and job fairs organized for employment generation.
In response to a query on skill development programs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister informed the Assembly that the UT now boasts 54 industrial training institutes, 22 polytechnics, and 32 functional private industrial training institutes to impart training to youth.
“A number of candidates have been trained under schemes like B2V4, PMKVY 2.0, PMKVY 3.0, and SANKALP,” the Minister said. Furthermore, the government provided data on vacancies and selections made by the JKPSC in 2023. Of the 1,292 referred vacancies, 1,141 selections were made. In 2024, 1,098 referred vacancies were reported, with 1,034 selections made.
The Minister also shared data on the JKSSB, stating that 1,884 vacancies were referred in 2023, with 3,695 selections made. In 2024, 5,656 selections were made by JKSSB.
In response to a question about initiatives undertaken to create employment opportunities for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir at the overseas and national levels, the Minister stated that the UT is integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) portal, which facilitates the registration of job seekers, job providers, skill providers, and career counsellors.
