3 months ago
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Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is grappling with an unemployment crisis. In caller years, the unemployment complaint successful the portion has soared to alarming levels. Such an increase has forced thousands of highly-qualified younker into low-paying jobs.
In the Kashmir valley, hundreds of jobless younker person been struggling to find unchangeable employment contempt completing their acquisition and acquiring assorted skills.
Myriad reasons
The unemployment complaint of J&K is higher than the nationalist average. In December 2025, Parliament said that J&K’s unemployment complaint was 6.1% successful July-September 2025, higher than the nationalist mean of 5.2%. Urban areas person shown sharper gaps with an unemployment complaint of 10.6%, compared with the agrarian unemployment complaint of 5.1%. As per estimates, the portion has astir 3.6 lakh registered unemployed youth, with astir two lakh in Kashmir and 1.5 lakh in Jammu. The unprecedented emergence successful the region’s unemployment complaint has been precipitated by its heavy reliance connected the authorities assemblage successful the lack of a robust backstage sector. Tourism and horticulture, accepted areas of the backstage sector, person been shrinking and are incapable to sorb the increasing educated workforce. The deficiency of a diversified manufacture has caused unemployment by limiting occupation instauration successful sectors beyond tourism and horticulture, starring to structural unemployment.
The delays successful recruitment person further exacerbated this crisis. Almost 80% of all recruitment exams announced by the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) and the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC), 2 premier recruiting agencies, person been delayed oregon challenged successful court. Thousands of posts present prevarication vacant crossed antithetic departments similar health, nationalist works and education. The lack of a just and transparent recruitment mechanics has worsened the situation. On December 15, the J&K authorities terminated 103 employees of the Fire and Emergency Services Department aft large-scale irregularities were revealed successful the recruitment process.
The region’s economical unpredictability has turned entrepreneurship into endurance ventures alternatively than maturation engines.
Moreover, the lack of a well-defined nationalist employment argumentation has replaced regular recruitment with contractual hiring. J&K has much than one lakh daily wagers crossed antithetic departments who proceed to enactment without occupation information oregon benefits. Their regularisation has been overlooked for decades by successive governments. The occupation situation successful the portion is peculiarly alarming among highly educated individuals who relationship for 23.9% of the full unemployment rate.
This concern reflects a superior mismatch betwixt acquisition attainment and job opportunities.
A swift response
J&K’s job situation demands urgent and effectual authorities intervention. A beardown start-up civilization and a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem tin efficaciously address unemployment successful the region. Over the years, immoderate section entrepreneurs person established palmy start-ups and provided employment to hundreds of youths. Therefore, the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI), the premier nationalist institute supporting entrepreneurship improvement successful the Union Territory (UT), should beryllium afloat funded to beryllium an effectual level for encouraging entrepreneurs to physique caller start-ups.
However, the nationalist assemblage remains the main employment generator successful the region. There should beryllium monolithic recruitment drives to capable vacant positions and curb the unemployment graph, which continues to emergence twelvemonth aft year. The authorities should name a monitoring agency which tin oversee the enactment process of recruiting agencies successful the UT, truthful arsenic to guarantee transparent and time-bound recruitment to assorted authorities positions. J&K’s youth should beryllium provided with adjacent employment opportunities successful nationalist and backstage sectors done fast-track recruitment, fiscal and logistics support, and market-oriented acquisition with peculiar absorption connected skill-based courses. Private investors should beryllium encouraged to put successful the region’s talented quality superior which volition beryllium a captious operator of productivity, innovation and economical growth.
Bilal Gani is with the module of Political Studies, Government Degree College Beerwah, J&K
