CHANDIGARH: Unemployment was one of the main issues in the recent Punjab assembly elections and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had made it one of its major poll planks as the unemployment rate in the state is above the national average. On Thursday, the AAP government advertised for 26,454 vacancies in various government departments and sought applications from prospective candidates in this regard.
The state cabinet on Monday had approved the filling of 26,454 vacancies in various government departments. Vacancies in 25 government departments have been advertised, with the highest in the state police at 10,314, followed by 6,452 in education department, 2,188 in health and family welfare department, 1690 in power department, 989 in technical education department, 777 in cooperation department, 547 in local government department, 338 in excise and taxation department besides others.
Candidates can apply for these jobs on the portals of Punjab Police, Punjab State Subordinate Services Selection Board, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and Punjab Public Service Commission and on portals of the various government departments.
Many voters believed that jobless youth were feeding the drug problem, which in turn was driving parents to send their children abroad.
Punjab is among the top states in the country when it comes to unemployment. According to the third report of the National Statistical Office (NSO) of 2019-20 released in July 2021 (a government agency under the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation), the unemployment rate in Punjab was 7.4 per cent while the national unemployment rate had reduced to 4.8 per cent.
Also, as per the report of independent thinktank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on the last quarter of 2021 (September to December), the unemployment rate in Punjab was recorded at 7.85 per cent against the national average of 7.31 per cent. The unemployment rate in urban areas of the state was 8.2 per cent and in rural areas it was 7.7 per cent. The unemployment rate among women is 34.1 per cent which is four times higher than men which is 7.4 per cent. The unemployment rate among youth who are graduates or having higher degrees was 15.8 per cent in 2021 compared to 14 per cent in 2016.
Meanwhile the labour force participation rate (section of the working population in the age group of 16 to 64 years currently employed of seeking employment) has dropped to 39.99 per cent in 2021 from 45.04 per cent in 2016.
Sources said that every year it is estimated that 1.50 lakh youth from Punjab go abroad to take admissions in overseas colleges and universities. Thus it is estimated that with each student spending between Rs 15 to Rs 22 lakh in the first year of study depending on the institute, course and country, it amounts to approximately Rs 30,000 crore going out of Punjab each year on account of student education.
During the election campaign, the AAP promised to produce enough jobs in the state so that youth does not go abroad in search of work.
The previous Congress government claimed to have given 70,000 government jobs besides creating thousands of jobs in private sector under their flagship Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme.