While the country’s unemployment rate has escalated to a three-month high, according to the latest data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Goa’s current unemployment scenario has also been disappointing.
Goa is struggling with a high unemployment rate of 15.9 percent, double the national average of 7.8 percent. Despite being amongst the highest literate States, Goa ranks seventh in joblessness.
Initiatives to promote opportunities not enough
In January 2023, the State's unemployment rate stood at 16.5 percent, which dropped to 11.1 percent in February 2023 but once again jumped to 15.9 percent in March 2023.
The figures indicate that the employment situation is a matter of concern and initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and create new job opportunities are not sufficient to address the issue.
Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir among other states with high unemployment
Several states also continue to struggle with high unemployment rates. Among the worst-affected states are Haryana, Rajasthan, and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Haryana tops the unemployment rate with a staggering 26.8 per cent of the workforce currently jobless. This is closely followed by Rajasthan, where the unemployment rate stands at 26.4 percent whereas J&K is not far behind, with an unemployment rate of 23.1 per cent.
Sikkim has also been hit hard by unemployment, with 20.7 percent of the state's population currently unemployed. Bihar and Jharkhand, two amongst the most populous states, have unemployment rates of 17.6 percent and 17.5 percent respectively. The small State stands at 15.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Goa government in January claimed that over 1.42 lakh individuals including nine transgenders are registered with the State Employment Exchange but also clarified that all might not be in search of jobs.
One in five people got job offers at Mega Job fair held last year
From the date of commencement of online services of Employment Exchange on February 4, 2019 to December 31, 2022, a total of 75,684 males, 66,685 females, and nine transgenders were registered with the department.
At a Mega Job Fair held last November, the government claimed that one in five youths interviewed by employers was given job offers. The State-sponsored fair saw participation from more than 170 companies including cruise liners, airlines, pharma, hotel, hospitality, IT, banking and real estate sectors.
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