J-K's unemployment rate declines: Economic Survey Report

Jammu: The unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir declined from 6.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 5.2 per cent in 2021-22 while the urban unemployment rate dipped by 1.1 percentage points, according to the Economic Survey Report 2022-23.

The report, released by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta recently, stated that the labour force participation rate was 61.5 per cent in 2021-22 as against 56.3 per cent in 2019-20, while the worker population ratio has increased to 58.3 per cent in 2021-22 from 52.5 per cent in 2019-20.

"Unemployment Rate on usual status in Jammu and Kashmir has declined from 6.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 5.2 per cent in 2021-22," it said.

Drawing a comparison between national and regional levels, the report said that at the all-India level, the labour force participation rate and worker population ratio have increased to 55.2 per cent and 52.9 per cent in 2021-22 respectively from 53.5 per cent and 50.9 per cent in 2019-20.

"Labour force participation rate, and worker population ratio have also improved in both rural and urban areas in 2021-22 as compared to 2019-20 for Jammu and Kashmir. The quarterly urban unemployment rate of Jammu and Kashmir has declined to 13.5 per cent in October-December 2022, from 14.4 per cent in October-December 2021 as per quarterly bulletin," it said.

"The government has been working on improving life and dignity of the workforce by protecting and safeguarding the interest of workers, promoting their welfare and providing social security both in organised and unorganised sectors," it said.

The report further said that 100 per cent saturation is being ensured in terms of linking workers to different social security schemes of the government.

Focusing on Mission Youth, it said the initiative is aimed at providing a vibrant medium for the engagement and empowerment of youth through systematic interventions in the domains of livelihood generation, education, skill development, psychotherapy, social engagement, sports and recreation.

Under the Youth Volunteer Programme, more than 5,000 youth clubs stand constituted to strengthen the social fabric for drug de-addiction and other social issues, the report added.

The new skill development policy has been launched which is aimed to provide an umbrella framework to align them to common standards and link skilling with demand centres. "Seventy-eight new job-oriented trade units have been introduced in ITIs along with the introduction of heritage craft trades," it said.