High rates of youth unemployment among five states headed for elections are found in Telangana, Mizoram, and Rajasthan: PLFS data

Only a dozen states/UTs, including Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, and Karnataka, saw a single-digit increase in the youth unemployment rate during 2022–2023, demonstrating the stark disparity in the rates across the nation.

While the rate of unemployment for young people aged 15 to 29 decreased to 10% in 2022–2023 from 12.4% in 2021–2022, approximately twenty-four states and union territories (UTs), including Lakshadweep, Kerala, Ladakh, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana, had rates that were higher than the national average. According to the most recent Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2022–23, the youth unemployment rate—particularly for females—rose to over 40% in Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar Island in the July–June timeframe.

The youth unemployment rate was greater than the national average in the remaining three election-bound states: Telangana (15.1%), Mizoram (11.9%), Rajasthan (12.5%), and Chhattisgarh (7.1%), with the exception of Madhya Pradesh (4.4%). The youth unemployment rate remained high, particularly for women, with 16.2% and 16.4% of young people unemployed in Telangana and Mizoram, respectively. In 2022–2023 the youth unemployment rate for females in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh was 5.1% and 3.9%, respectively.

Only a dozen states/UTs, including Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, and Karnataka, saw a single-digit increase in the youth unemployment rate during 2022–2023, demonstrating the stark disparity in the rates across the nation. The remaining twenty-four states and the District of Columbia reported double-digit growth rates; these were higher than the 10% national average based on the standard status (ps+ss) technique, which calculates the unemployment rate over a 365-day period.

About 22 states/UTs, including Goa, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh, recorded higher unemployment rates than the national average of 3.2% in 2022–2023 (July–June). A similar pattern was also observed in the overall unemployment rate for the age group of 15 years and above.

According to the most recent PLFS bulletin for April–June 2023, the youth unemployment rate in urban areas was 17.6%, down from 18.9% during the same time the previous year. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, 15 states and union territories—including the election-bound states of Chhattisgarh (29.8%), Rajasthan (28.3%), Telanagana (27.8%), and Madhya Pradesh (19.4%)—recorded a higher youth unemployment rate in urban areas than the 17.6% national average.

The urban total unemployment rate dropped to 6.6%, the lowest since the PLFS bulletin’s inception in 2018. On the other hand, the urban unemployment rate in nearly 14 states was higher than the national average.

Based on the current weekly status for individuals over 15, the urban unemployment rate for men decreased to 5.9% in the April–June quarter from 6.0% in the prior quarter and 7.1% in the corresponding period last year. Additionally, the jobless rate for women decreased to 9.1% in April–June from 9.2% in the prior quarter and 9.5% in the same period last year. However, there was a rise in employment of both men and women in self-employed occupations including assistant and own account worker.

Among urban females aged 15 to 29, the young unemployment rate increased to 23.4% in April–June from 22.9% in the previous quarter, but it decreased from 23.9% in the same period last year. Although it increased to 15.9% in April–June from 15.6% in the previous quarter, the unemployment rate for urban males in the 15–29 age group was still lower than 17.4% in April–June 2022.

States/Union Territories (UTs) with metropolitan unemployment rates above the national average were Himachal Pradesh (13.8%), Rajasthan (11.7%), Chhattisgarh (11.2%), Jammu and Kashmir (10.9%), and Kerala (10%).

The unemployment rates in the following states/union territories were lower than the national average: Delhi (2.7%), Gujarat (2.8%), West Bengal (4.4%), Bihar (6.1%), Maharashtra, and Haryana (6.5%).