J&K’s unemployment rate stays well above national average

By Riaz Wani Jammu and Kashmir’s unemployment rate continues to remain significantly higher than the national average, with the Union Territory recording a jobless rate of 6.7 per cent in 2024–25 compared to 3.5 percent nationally, the government revealed during the recent session of Legislative Assembly. Responding to a question by legislator Mubarak Gul, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, who also holds the Labour and Employment portfolio, cited data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. He said the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above in J&K has remained consistently above the all-India average for the past six years. “In 2024–25, the unemployment rate in the UT stood at 6.7 percent 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, quoting official figures. The government said it had undertaken an extensive baseline survey across the Union Territory in January last year in collaboration with district administrations under Mission YUVA to assess the employment landscape. Stating that tackling unemployment, particularly among youth, was a priority, the government said its strategy extended beyond short-term job provisioning. It emphasised sustainable livelihood creation through entrepreneurship, skilling initiatives and institutional reforms “so that youth become job-creators rather than job seekers”. “In this context, Mission YUVA has emerged as a transformational initiative, witnessing unprecedented enthusiasm and participation from youth across the Union Territory,” it said. According to the government, over 1.71 lakh youth have registered on the Mission YUVA platform since its launch, resulting in around 70,000 formal enterprise applications. The scale of participation, it said, reflected growing confidence in the programme. However, concerns over the cost burden on job aspirants were also raised in the House. In response to a question from Pulwama MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para, the General Administration Department disclosed that the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) together collected Rs 48.88 crore in application fees from candidates between 2023 and 2025. Of this amount, JKPSC collected Rs 17.90 crore, while JKSSB earned Rs 30.98 crore. Para criticised the fee collection, saying it was “despite the government’s explicit promise that all application forms would be made free”. He alleged that charging high fees from unemployed youth not only contradicted the stated policy but also amounted to “blatant exploitation of unemployed aspirants, who are already under severe economic distress.”