J&K Unemployment at 6.7%, Nearly Double National Average, Government Informs Assembly

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Monday informed the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that the Union Territory’s overall unemployment rate stands at 6.7 per cent, almost twice the national average of 3.5 per cent.

The information was provided in a written reply to a starred question raised by MLA Mubarak Gul. Citing data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the government said unemployment among persons aged 15 years and above in Jammu and Kashmir has fluctuated in recent years but has remained consistently higher than the all-India average.

The House was further told that a baseline survey conducted across the Union Territory by the Employment Department, in collaboration with the UT Administration under Mission YUVA, identified 4.73 lakh individuals in the 18-60 age group. Of these, about 46.8 per cent reported that they were “not working but willing to work,” underlining the scale of employment challenges, particularly among the youth.

Responding to queries on measures to tackle unemployment, the government said employment generation, especially for young people, remains a top priority. It emphasised that the focus is on creating sustainable livelihoods by encouraging youth to become job creators rather than job seekers.

Mission YUVA was described as a key initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship across Jammu and Kashmir. Since its launch, around 70,000 applications have been received on the YUVA platform. Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have been prepared for nearly 52,875 applicants through Small Business Development Units, while banks have scrutinised about 47,816 cases. Of these, 16,141 applications have been sanctioned so far. Around 9,500 proposals were rejected due to eligibility or credit-related issues, with the remaining cases at various stages of processing.

The government added that sanctioned beneficiaries are being provided handholding support, training and mentoring. More than 7,300 entrepreneurs have completed training programmes, while others are currently undergoing capacity-building.

The Labour and Employment Department also shared year-wise details of beneficiaries covered under various self-employment and entrepreneurship schemes, including Mission YUVA, Mumkin, Tejaswini, the Spurring Entrepreneurship Scheme and the Women Entrepreneurship Programme, over the past two financial years.

The government said it has formulated a comprehensive employment roadmap titled “Mission YUVA: From Aspiration to Enterprise – Transforming Jammu & Kashmir’s Employment Landscape” to reduce unemployment and enhance youth participation in productive economic activities.