J&K Faces Higher Unemployment Rate Compared to National Average: Deputy CM

Quoting the PLFS of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, the deputy chief minister, who is the minister in-charge of the Labor and Employment department, said the unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above in Jammu and Kashmir has remained above the national average for the last six years.

In 2024-25, the unemployment rate in the UT stood at 6.7 percent compared to the all-India average of 3.5 percent. The rate is 6.1 per cent in India in 2023-24 compared to 3.2 per cent, while in 2022-23 it is 4.4 per cent against the national figure of 3.2 per cent, he said.

Unemployment is estimated to be 5.2 percent in J&K in 2021-22, 4.1 percent across the country, 5.9 percent in 2020-21, and 4.2 percent in India. The unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019-20 stood at 6.7 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 4.8 per cent, the deputy chief minister said.

According to the baseline survey conducted in January last year under Mission YUVA in Jammu and Kashmir, Choudhary said that out of the total 64.8 lakh people in the age group of 18-50 years, 4.73 Lakh reported “not working but willing to work”.

The youth surveyed include 70,428 postgraduate students, 98,466 graduates, 1,26,059 high school graduates, 95,914 secondary education candidates and 44,908 intermediate level candidates. He said the survey also covered 24,594 illiterate persons and 10,994 persons educated up to primary school, among others.

Addressing unemployment, especially among youth, remains the top priority of the NC-led government, Choudhary said.

“The government’s strategy is not limited to short-term job opportunities; it focuses on creating sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship, skills and institutional reforms, so that young people become job creators rather than job seekers,” he said.

In this context, he said, Mission YUVA has emerged as a transformational initiative that has witnessed unprecedented enthusiasm and participation of youth across the Union Territory.

“Since its launch, more than 1.71 lakh youth have registered on the Mission YUVA platform, leading to nearly 70,000 formal corporate applications, a scale that clearly reflects growing confidence in the programme,” he said, adding that of these applications, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for around 52,875 candidates have been professionally prepared through Small Business Development Units (SBDUs), ensuring technical and financial sustainability.

Following this, he said, 47,816 applications were reviewed and approved by Deputy Commissioners at the district level, documenting the genuineness of the applicants and the compatibility of the proposals with the Mission objectives.

As of date, 16,141 applications have successfully completed the entire cycle, resulting in bank sanctions of around Rs 1,000 billion and more than Rs 700 Million have already been disbursed. He said these figures mean that 7,339 entrepreneurs have completed training and another 5,000 entrepreneurs are currently continuing training, while thousands of businesses have been established in the field, supported by structured capacity building.

In addition to Mission YUVA, various programs such as Mumkin and Tejaswani also cover hundreds of beneficiaries.

With rising enrollments, increased sanctions and disbursements, expanded educational coverage and strong institutional mechanisms now firmly in place, J&K is witnessing a clear upward and forward movement towards entrepreneurship-driven employment generation, creating a resilient foundation for inclusive economic growth, he said.