Unemployment rate in J&K falls to 15 percent: Report

Tourist rush, fast track recruitment main reasons for better results

Srinagar, Jan 05: The unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has dropped by more than six percent in the month of December 2021.

According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data, the month of December 2021 has recorded 15 percent of unemployment while the percentage was higher in the month of November which recorded 21.2 percent.

Before the second wave of Covid, UT of J&K was among the top states/UT in providing employment, however a slump was recorded after global pandemic disrupted activities worldwide.

The CMIE data revealed that during the months of September, October and November 2021, the unemployment figures were 21.4, 22.2 and 21.2 percent respectively. In March 2021, unemployment rate in J&K had gone down to 9.5.

A top government official while speaking to the Rising Kashmir said that the hard work of the government is bearing fruits.

“Efforts are being taken to provide adequate employment in the Union Territory on the directions of the LG. Besides, the rush of the tourists in the UT is also opening more avenues for the people in the UT,” the official said.

The J & K government signed a series of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various national and international companies aspiring to invest in Jammu and Kashmir. As per officials, the fast track recruitment has also contributed to decline in unemployment rate, as more than 11,000 recruitments were executed for various government posts in a record time.

Earlier in the month of December in 2021 during the winter parliament session Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Rajya Sabha that the UT had received investment proposals worth Rs 31,000 crore. He also said that the government had notified a new central sector scheme worth Rs 28,400 crore which was likely to provide employment to over 4.5 lakh people.

Govt officials said as on in the first week of January, UT has received Rs.45,000 crore investment proposal from the industries.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir also witnessed the first ever Real Estate Summit in the month of December 2021. The J&K administration signed 39 MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) worth Rs 18,300 crore with the country’s real investors for the development of housing and commercial projects in the union territory.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union MoS Jitendra Singh to foster growth and development in Jammu and Kashmir. It included investments in the residential, commercial, infrastructure, and film sectors.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha termed the event as a historic milestone in J&K’s Real Estate sector.

According to a J&K government press release issued in the month of October, the Jammu and Kashmir administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai, for real estate development, industrial parks, IT towers, multipurpose towers and more, which was announced by the commerce ministry.

While the Union Territory’s Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha on the occasion through a press release said that the new agreement with Dubai will help the union territory in terms of industrialisation and sustainable growth.

In January 2021, the J&K administration announced a new industrial developmental scheme with a total outlay of Rs 28,400 crore to encourage new investment and to take industrial development to the block level.

According to the data available with the Rising Kashmir, the year 2021 till November recorded 6,04,902 tourist footfalls in the valley alone while the month also recorded the tourist footfall of more than 1,20,000. If the figure from Jammu division is combined, J&K is witnessing a footfall of 12 to 13 lakh tourists per month.

The compiled report for the year 2021’s average unemployment recorded 15.69 percent as per the CMIE data, which is far better than many developed states of the country.