Jammu, Feb 9: The unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has remained consistently higher than the national average over the past several years, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said on Monday, citing official data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
In a written reply to a question by legislator Mubarak Gul in the J&K Legislative Assembly here, he said the overall unemployment rate stands at 6.7 per cent in the Union Territory, which is significantly higher than the national average of 3.5 per cent.
Quoting the PLFS of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the deputy chief minister who is minister incharge Labour and Employment department said the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above in Jammu and Kashmir has remained higher than the national average over the last six years.
In 2024–25, the unemployment rate in the UT stood at 6.7 per cent against the all-India average of 3.5 per cent. The rate was 6.1 per cent in 2023–24 compared to India’s 3.2 per cent, while in 2022–23 it was 4.4 per cent against the national figure of 3.2 per cent, he said.
In 2021–22, unemployment in J&K was estimated at 5.2 per cent as against 4.1 per cent nationally, 5.9 per cent in 2020–21 compared to 4.2 per cent for India. In 2019–20, the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir stood at 6.7 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 4.8 per cent, the deputy chief minister said.
According to a baseline survey conducted during the month of January last year under Mission YUVA across Jammu and Kashmir, Choudhary said a total of 4.73 Lakhs individuals in the age group 18-50, out of total 64.8 lakhs individuals, have reported “not working but willing to work”.
The surveyed youth included 70,428 postgraduates, 98,466 graduates, 1,26,059 higher secondary pass-outs, 95,914 secondary-level candidates and 44,908 middle pass candidates. The survey also covered 24,594 illiterate persons and 10,994 individuals who had studied up to the primary level, among others, he said.
Choudhary said addressing unemployment, particularly among youth, remains a top priority of the NC led government.
“The government’s strategy is not confined to short-term job provisions but is focused on creating sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship, skilling, and institutional reforms, so that youth become job-creators rather than job-seekers,” he said.
In this context, he said Mission YUVA has emerged as a transformational initiative, witnessing unprecedented enthusiasm and participation from youth across the Union Territory.
“Since its launch, over 1.71 lakh youth have registered on the Mission YUVA platform, leading to around 70,000 formal enterprise applications-a scale that clearly reflects growing confidence in the programme,” he said, adding out of these applications, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for nearly 52,875 candidates have been professionally prepared through Small Business Development Units (SBDUs), ensuring technical and financial viability.
Following this, he said 47,816 applications were examined and approved at the district level by the Deputy Commissioners, certifying the genuineness of applicants and alignment of proposals with Mission objectives.
As on date, 16,141 applications have successfully completed the full cycle, resulting in bank sanctions of nearly Rs 1,000 crore, with over Rs 700 crore already disbursed. These figures translate into thousands of enterprises being established on the ground, supported by structured capacity-building, where 7,339 entrepreneurs have completed training and another 5,000 are currently undergoing training, he said.
In addition to Mission YUVA, various schemes like Mumkin and Tejaswani have covered hundreds of beneficiaries.
With rising registrations, increasing sanctions and disbursements, expanding training coverage and strong institutional mechanisms now firmly in place, J&K is witnessing a clear upward and onward movement towards entrepreneurship-led employment generation, laying a durable foundation for inclusive economic growth, he said.
