The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is ranked an alarming third in terms of unemployment.
According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), J&K’s unemployment rate stood at 18.3 percent and was only superseded by Haryana (24.6%) and Rajasthan (22.2 %).
Unemployment among the youth in J&K was at its peak during the Covid pandemic. The unemployment rate among the youth aged between 15-29 years was recorded at 33.8 % in the last quarter of 2021. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had based its conclusions after surveying 1,390 households in Jammu and Kashmir in which 1539 persons were aged between 15-29 years.
Last September, the J&K Department of Employment had confirmed that around 48,908 unemployed youth, including 21,205 post-graduates, had been registered for jobs till June 2021. The UT government remains the highest employer in the region.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has said in the recent past that his administration expects to create five lakh jobs with the UT all set to get Rs.25, 000-30,000 crores in private investment.
In overall terms, CMIE data revealed that in May, the average unemployment rate in the country was 7.1 percent, while in April and March it was 7.83 percent and 7.60 percent respectively.
Tripura (17.4 %), Delhi (13.6 %), Goa (13.4 %), Bihar (13.3 %), Jharkhand (13.1 %), Himachal Pradesh (9.6 %), Telangana (9.4 %), Punjab (9.2 %), Assam (8.2 %) and Sikkim (7.5 %) were the other 10 states listed with high rates of unemployment.
Chhattisgarh emerged as the state with the lowest unemployment rate at 0.7%. Madhya Pradesh (1.6 %), Gujarat (2.1 %), Odisha (2.6 %), Uttarakhand (2.9 %), Tamil Nadu & UP (3.1 %), Maharashtra & Meghalaya (4.1 %), Karnataka (4.3 %), Andhra Pradesh (4.4 %), Puducherry (5.6 %), Kerala (5.8 %) were the 12 other states with low unemployment rates.
According to the CMIE data, the unemployment rate in urban areas was comparably higher in April (9.22 %) as opposed to March (8.28 %). In rural areas, the unemployment rate was pegged at 7.18 % in April as opposed to 7.29 % in March.
The CMIE data said that because the Chhattisgarh government has always placed emphasis on maintaining a balance between urban and rural economy schemes, and preserved traditional occupations, it has enjoyed a low unemployment rate.