Jammu and Kashmir has revealed data highlighting the unemployment issues in the Union Territory, stating that over 3.61 lakh educated unemployed youth are registered across Jammu and Kashmir as of September 2025.
The data reveals that 2.08 lakh registrations are from Kashmir Division and 1.55 lakh are from Jammu Division.
Srinagar district had the highest number of unemployed youth, marking 23,826 in number, followed by Anantnag, Pulwama, Kathua, and Kulgam. The lowest number has been recorded in Kishtwar with 8,870 unemployed youth and Reasi with 12,376.
When division is based on gender, 233,845 are males and 127,301 are females.
“In J&K, there is a dominant preference for government employment over self-employment or private sector jobs, driven by factors such as job security, social prestige, and a long-standing tradition of government positions being seen as the most stable and respected career choice,” Right activist Rasikh Rasool told FoEJ Media.
The region’s historical dependence on government jobs as a means of economic stability, combined with limited opportunities in the private sector and the lack of a robust entrepreneurial culture, has led many youth to view a government job as the only desirable form of employment,” he added.
“The basic responsibility for generating employment lies on the shoulders of policymakers; this is the incompetency of the political class,” a student said while speaking to FoEJ Media.
“We are being forced to be conservative in terms of economical activities; our private sectors are equal to null; we are totally dependent on the government for jobs, which it is not able to deliver,” he added.
The government said that the Employment Department under Mission Youth/Mission YUVA aims at creating 4.25 lakh job opportunities through the establishment of 1.37 lakh entrepreneurship units, focusing on promoting self-employment, startups, and skill development among the educated youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the challenge remains pressing, as the youth unemployment in J&K stands at 17.4%, which is 10.2% above the national average, according to the Baseline Survey Reports 2024-5 under Mission YUVA. Meanwhile, the overall unemployment rate in the UT is 6.7%, which is nearly double the national figure of 3.5%, based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023–24.
