Unemployment in Jammu Kashmir has reached another high as it has mounted to 20.2 which is the second highest after Haryana with an unemployment rate of 26.9 per cent.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has pegged India’s unemployment rate at 7.1 per cent, while Jammu Kashmir has an unemployment rate of 20.2 per cent for the month of July against 17.2 per cent in the month of June.
The CMIE data reveals that the unemployment rate has been steadily rising in the reion. In November 2016 the unemployment rate was 29.9 percent while in March the unemployment was recorded at 25 per cent.
With the rising rate of unemployment rate in Jammu Kashmir, several scholars have taken to alternative forms of employment. Recently The Kashmiriyat reported that two scholars, one Ph.D and one M. Phil had opened a tea stall to earn their livelihood.
The Jammu Kashmir admin maintains that it is employing youth, however, the figures released by CMIE show an upward trend of unemployment in the region.
Senior politicians including Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, M Y Tarigami, Sajad Lone have targetted the Bhartiya Janta Party for making “false” claims over employment in the region.
Pertinently the Directorate of Employment in 2021 witnessed three lakh registrations by postgraduates and PhD degree holders for jobs. In the same year, Jammu Kashmir Service Selection Board advertised 8000 class IV posts, and more than 5.4 lakh aspirants applied for these posts.
Official figures suggest that the JK administration has advertised around 10,000 jobs, of which 8,575 were Class IV posts ever since the new domicile laws were introduced in May 2020, which allow non-residents to apply.
The Government of India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation in its latest Periodic Labour Force Survey stated that unemployment figures among educated youth in Jammu Kashmir have reached a staggering 46.3 per cent.
The report “Periodic Labour Force Survey April-June 2021” released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation last month states that Jammu Kashmir’s urban unemployment rate for the age group 15-29 age has reached 46.3 per cent from the 44.1 per cent in comparison to the previous quarter.