Jammu, March 10: The government of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday said that the Department of Labour and Employment has registered 3,70,811 unemployed youth on its employment portal as of January 2025.
The information was shared in response to an un-starred question by Sham Lal Sharma, who sought details regarding the government’s plan to formulate a job policy for educated unemployed youth, whether skilled or unskilled.
In a written reply, the Minister in charge of Labour and Employment said that the department aims to provide employment opportunities to educated youth through various schemes, including Mumkin, Tejaswini, Spurring Entrepreneurship Initiatives under Mission Youth, and Parvaaz, among others.
The government further informed that job fairs have been held regularly since 2022-23 to facilitate employment. A total of 246 job fairs have been conducted between 2022 and February 2025, with 878 companies participating in 2022-23, 1,412 companies in 2023-24, and 470 companies in 2024-25 (up to February). These job fairs saw the participation of 1,36,200 job seekers, out of which 39,782 were shortlisted, 4,893 received on-spot placements, and 6,640 were recommended for skill training.
Providing a qualification-wise breakdown of unemployed youth registered with District Employment Exchanges across J&K, the government said that 3,69,010 individuals have voluntarily registered on the portal. Among them, 2,24,495 have an educational qualification of up to 12th class, 66,628 are graduates, 47,114 are postgraduates, 15,396 hold professional degrees, 9,884 have diplomas, 1,589 are draftsmen, 2,883 are ITI-trained, and 1,021 possess skills other than ITI training.
The government also revealed findings from Mission YUVA, a survey conducted across the Union Territory to identify the potential entrepreneurs and support them in starting their own businesses. The survey recorded a total of 4,73,936 individuals, including 98,466 graduates and 70,428 postgraduates, along with those having lower educational qualifications such as illiterates, literates with formal education, primary, middle, secondary, and higher secondary pass-outs.
The survey further noted that 4.73 lakh individuals in the 18-60 age group were reported as “not working but willing to work.”
The government has supported many youth through various schemes and said that “Under the Mumkin scheme, which enables the youth of J&K to procure small commercial vehicles, the government provides ₹80,000 or 10 percent of the vehicle’s cost as an upfront subsidy. So far, 5,158 cases have been sanctioned and disbursed under this scheme. Similarly, under Tejaswini, a scheme aimed at empowering women, 1,162 cases have been sanctioned. In the Spurring Entrepreneurship Initiative, a financial assistance scheme for youth, 372 cases have been sanctioned and disbursed,” the government revealed. “In Endeavour to Empower – a scheme to provide market driven skill training to youth as many as 9781 individuals have been trained so far.”
