At 25%, J&K’s unemployment double than national average

SRINAGAR — In a major concern, the unemployment rate has reached to 25 percent in Jammu and Kashmir, which is double the national average.

Jammu and Kashmir has 65 percent population under the age of 35 years. While as per official figures, 25 percent youth are unemployed in J&K, which is double the national average.

“We are facing many challenges. Unemployment is a major concern in J&K. For a single post, thousands of aspirants are applying,” an official said.

To curb unemployment, the official said Jammu and Kashmir administration has set up 2025 year as its target to create employment opportunities and end unemployment in the new Union Territory.

The official said that J&K government has sought support of the national-level investors and industry experts in creating robust infrastructure and employment avenues for the youth of J&K.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has also said government would take measures to end unemployment in J&K. “I believe in concrete plans and immediate execution. My idea of Institutional Mechanism under Mission Youth is to ensure that we have a concrete framework and a definite time-line to execute it on the fertile ground that we have prepared,” he recently said.

The Lt Governor also beckoned the industrial leaders to partner J&K in formulating and implementing the programme successfully on ground as he assumed that best designs are not what looks good on paper but what works best when implemented on ground.

In the domestic Ease of Doing Business ranking and State Reform Action Plan, he said, “We are moving up. By minimizing regulatory burdens, J&K have scored over States like Kerala and Odisha in September’s ranking by the Central government.”

He has urged that ways and means should be searched for providing the sustained support to youth as the piecemeal approach has not done any good in the past. “Our youth has struggled due to many reasons as lack of avenues regarding job prospects, skill upgradation, recreation abetted by poor educational standards, skill sets are taking toll on them,” he added.