Gurugram: The unemployment rate in Haryana — second-highest in the country among large states — has become a major point of contention between the state government and the Opposition, which has accused the former of failing to create enough jobs for the youth.
However, citing latest data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the state government has claimed that it has in fact brought down the unemployment rate — thanks to the efforts of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
The NSSO — which falls under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — released the Periodic Labour Force Survey for the July 2022 to June 2023 period on 9 October, which showed that Haryana’s unemployment rate among those above 15 years of age was 6.1 percent, down from 9 percent in the same period in 2021-2022.
Meanwhile, the Haryana government earlier this week issued a press note claiming that its efforts have helped in improving the situation.
“Haryana’s relentless pursuit of employment generation, under the visionary guidance of Chief Minister Manohar Lal, has borne fruit, with the state’s unemployment rate declining to an impressive 6.5 percent,” read the press note issued Tuesday by the state’s information and public relations department. “This significant achievement has been revealed in the recent periodic labour force survey conducted by the National Statistical Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.”
The press note quoted an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, which, however, was not the overall figure. The urban unemployment rate of Haryana was 6.5 percent in the NSSO data. The combined unemployment rate for both rural and urban areas was 6.1 percent for people aged 15 and above, according to the data.
Speaking to ThePrint, Praveen Attreya, media secretary, Haryana government, said that the Khattar government has taken proactive steps to check unemployment by not only facilitating job placements but also providing people with skills and making them more employable.
Ever since Khattar came to power in 2014, over 1.10 lakh youth have been provided government jobs, he claimed.
However, the opposition parties have slammed the government for its claims and said that unemployment is at an all-time high in the state.
“The government should see the unemployment rate in the age group of 15 to 29, which is 17.5 percent because these are the people who are not getting jobs ever since the BJP came to power in 2014. Very few government jobs have been provided to youth ever since Khattar came to power for the second time in 2019,” Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of Opposition in the Haryana assembly, told ThePrint Tuesday.
Divyanshu Budhiraja, president of the Haryana Youth Congress, said that the situation of unemployment in Haryana can be gauged from the fact that “for 1,35,36 posts of Group D jobs, 13,75,151 people have applied”.
“Those who are recruited to Group D jobs are placed as peons, helpers, safai karamcharis, cleaners, etc. Still, as per the government’s own records, almost 100 people have applied for one post. This shows the level of unemployment in the state,” Budhiraja said Friday.
The issue of unemployment sparked a political storm in December last year as well when the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) released unemployment data pegging unemployment in Haryana at 37.4 percent. This led to a heated debate between the government and the Opposition both inside and outside the Haryana assembly.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also criticised the state government, referring to Haryana as the “champion in unemployment” which had “left everyone behind” when his Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the state. A slugfest ensued between the Khattar government and the Opposition in the state assembly’s winter session in January this year.
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‘Over 12 lakh youth employed’
The press note Tuesday stated that the CM’s commitment to development has propelled Haryana “on a path of continuous progress”.
“As the state advances industrially, employment opportunities are flourishing. Each day sees new companies investing in Haryana, thereby providing a multitude of job prospects for the state’s youth,” it added.
In addition, the state government’s innovative schemes have encouraged many young individuals to embark on the path of self-employment. At the same time, various government departments are actively engaged in new recruitment, it added.
According to Attreya, quoted earlier, besides government jobs, over 12 lakh youth have found employment in the private sector, both through employment and self-employment.
“The government has announced an additional 60,000 jobs this year and the process for recruitment for 41,217 from these is already in progress. Besides these, over one lakh people have been provided jobs by the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN),” he added.
NSSO report
Haryana is still among the states with the worst unemployment rate with second position among the large states (population of more than 1 crore) after Kerala, which has reported an unemployment rate of 7 percent against last year’s 9.6 percent.
The national average this time, according to the NSSO data, is 3.2 per cent.
Among the bigger states, Madhya Pradesh has the lowest unemployment rate of 1.6 per cent, followed by Gujarat and Jharkhand with 1.7 percent each.
In the age group of 15 to 29 years, Haryana’s unemployment rate is 17.5 percent, while in the age group of 15 to 59 years, it is 6.4 percent and in the age group of 15 and above, the rate is 6.1 percent.
In 2021-2022, Haryana had an unemployment rate of 9 percent in the age group of 15 and above compared with the national figure of 4.1 percent.
Kerala had a slightly higher rate of 9.6 percent, while Gujarat and Jharkhand had a much lower rate of 2 percent each.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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