Youth Unemployment in Jammu Kashmir: There has been a huge increase in the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the data of Directorate of Employment (DoE) of Jammu and Kashmir Government in the first quarter of 2024, 3.52 lakh youth are unemployed in the state. Of these, 1.09 lakh youth are graduates and post graduates who constitute 31% of the unemployed in the state.
According to the report of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir is 23.1%, which is the highest in the whole of India. This figure shows the seriousness of unemployment in the state. According to Employment Director Nisar Ahmed Wani, the number of unemployed graduates and post graduates has increased by 10,000 in the last quarter of 2023.
Contradiction in government survey
However, the Economic Survey of 2023 of the Jammu and Kashmir Government showed a decline in the unemployment rate. It decreased from 6.7% in 2019-20 to 5.2% in 2021-22. Whereas the quarterly urban unemployment rate for October-December 2022 was recorded at 13.5% while the national average was 8.2%. Despite more than 3 lakh vacant posts in sectors like education, law enforcement and public administration, the problem of unemployment persists. Eligible candidates have been waiting for these vacant posts for a long time.
Delay in recruitment processes
Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSRB) Chairperson Indu Kanwal Chib said that since 2019, selection has been done on 22,624 posts. Apart from this, recruitment is yet to be done on 874 posts and examinations will be conducted for 4,921 posts in the coming weeks. Important vacant posts in various departments of the state include Home Department (1,336 posts), Health and Medical Education (415 posts), Jal Shakti (314 posts), and Electricity Department (292 posts). These posts are vacant for a long time due to which the situation of unemployment has become even more serious.
Government should take appropriate steps to reduce unemployment rate
The government will soon have to take concrete steps to fill the growing unemployment crisis and vacant government posts in the state. There is a need to increase employment generation opportunities for unemployed youth so that they can get employment as per their qualifications and the unemployment rate in the state can be improved.