Youth joblessness surges in Telangana

Telangana’s battle with unemployment is getting bigger, with youth joblessness here surging ahead of the country. Among youth aged 15 to 29 in the State, the unemployment rate in 2023-24 has shot up to 16.6 per cent, substantially outpacing the national youth unemployment average of 10.2 per cent.

As per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFR) 2023-24, Telangana is ranked sixth in joblessness of youth among major States. Karnataka stands first with 10.2 per cent unemployed youth, followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

The upward trend in Telangana’s youth joblessness, which rose from 14.2 per cent in 2021-22 and 15.1 per cent in 2022-23, to 16.6 per cent now, indicates growing concerns about opportunities for young job seekers. The situation is further alarming in urban areas with around 20.9 per cent of urban youth (aged 15-29) being unemployed including urban male staring at 16.7 per cent, while the unemployment rate among young urban females is much higher at 30.7 per cent.

Among the overall population of Telangana, the unemployment rate inched up to 4.8 per cent for 2023-24, surpassing the previous year’s 4.4 per cent and 4.2 per cent in 2021-22. In contrast, India’s national unemployment rate fell from 4.1 per cent in 2021-22 to a steady 3.2 per cent over the



last two years, indicating a relative stabilisation at the national level.

Breaking down the data by region and gender reveals additional disparities. Rural areas in Telangana maintained a relatively lower overall unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent in 2023-24, but urban centres face severe challenges, with the urban female unemployment rate reaching 10.4 per cent – one of the highest in recent years, from 9.6 per cent in 2022-23. Comparatively, Telangana’s urban male unemployment rate decreased from 7.1 per cent in 2022-23 to 6.0 per cent in 2023-24. The gap between urban male and female unemployment remains stark, raising questions about the inclusiveness of job growth in Telangana’s urban centres.

The rise in Telangana’s overall unemployment rate has put additional pressure on the Congress government, which has been struggling to fulfill its poll promise of filling two lakh government jobs within one year. Though the State government released a job calendar in an attempt to address the anger among youth, it backfired with no specific vacancy details. Further, the government had not only failed to retain the growth momentum and made no efforts to prevent shifting of various industries to others States, but also was unable to attract any new investments that could create tangible employment opportunities in the last 11 months.