Rise in Unemployment Rate

RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-2491
ANSWERED ON-08.08.2018

Shri Kapil Sibal

(a) whether it is a fact that urban unemployment has risen to 8.2 per cent, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether Government has been able to control unemployment rate since 2014 till date, if so, industry/sector/year-wise details thereof from 2014 till date; and

ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a): As per the results of available labour force surveys on Employment-Unemployment conducted by Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, the estimated unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years & above on usual status basis in urban areas in the country during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 was 5.3%, 4.9% and 4.4% respectively.

(b) & (c): Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority concern of the Government. Government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country like fast-tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Deendyal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has been launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment for incentivising employers for promoting employment generation. Under this scheme, Government is paying entire employer’s contribution (12% or as admissible) towards EPF and EPS for all eligible new employees for all sectors for 3 years. Till 30th July, 2018, the scheme covered 76908 establishments and 61.37 lakh beneficiaries.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been initiated by Government for facilitating self-employment. Under PMMY collateral free loans uptoRs. 10 lakh, are extended to small/micro business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to setup or expand their business activities. Under PMMY, the number of loans sanctioned during 2015-16 to 2017-18 were 12.27 crore, out of which 3.49 crore were new entrepreneurs.