ibn sultan
Srinagar, Feb 9:The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday informed the Legislative Assembly that the Union Territory’s unemployment rate stands at 6.7 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 3.5 per cent.
In a written reply to a starred question raised by MLA Mubarak Gul, the government said that as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), unemployment among persons aged 15 years and above in J&K has remained consistently above the national level, despite fluctuations over recent years.
The House was further informed that a baseline survey conducted by the Employment Department in collaboration with the UT Administration under Mission YUVA identified 4.73 lakh individuals in the age group of 18–60 years. Of these, 46.8 per cent reported that they were not working but willing to work, highlighting the scale of employment challenges, particularly among youth.
Responding to queries on measures to address unemployment, the government said employment generation remains a top priority, with a focus on creating sustainable livelihoods rather than short-term job provisioning. The emphasis, it said, is on encouraging youth to become job creators instead of job seekers.
The government highlighted Mission YUVA 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.
Out of these, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for nearly 52,875 applicants were prepared through Small Business Development Units (SBDUs). Following scrutiny by banks, 47,816 applications were examined, of which 16,141 cases have been sanctioned. Around 9,500 applications were rejected due to eligibility and credit-related issues, while the remaining cases are at various stages of processing.
The government said sanctioned beneficiaries are being provided handholding support, training and mentoring. So far, more than 7,300 entrepreneurs have completed training, with several others currently undergoing capacity-building programmes.
The Labour and Employment Department also shared details of beneficiaries covered under various self-employment and entrepreneurship schemes, including Mission YUVA, Mumkin, Tejaswini, Spurring Entrepreneurship Scheme, and the Women Entrepreneurship Programme during the past two financial years.
The reply was tabled by the Minister In-charge, Labour and Employment Department, who said the mission-based approach aims to ensure inclusive growth and long-term employment generation across the Union Territory. (KNC)
