New Delhi, Aug 5 : The total increase in employment during the last 10 years is about 17 crore as per the latest data of the RBI, which shows that employment in the country increased to 64.33 crore in year 2023-24 compared to 47.15 crore in 2014-15, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The minister cited KLEMS (K: Capital, L: Labour, E: Energy, M: Materials and S: Services) database published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that provides employment estimates at the all-India level in support of her submissions.

Shobha Karandlaje said that the official data source on employment and unemployment in the country is the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18.

This data also indicates that the worker population ratio (WPR) i.e. employment has shown an increasing trend and the unemployment rate has indicated a decreasing trend over the years.

Besides, the National Career Service (NCS) portal (www.ncs.gov.in) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment provides a variety of employment related services like job search and matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, internships etc., through the portal.

As on July 30, NCS platform has more than 30.92 lakh employees and over 20 lakh active vacancies.

During the year 2023-24, 1.09 crore vacancies were posted on NCS portal and the total number of vacancies mobilised on the portal since its launch in 2015 is more than 2.9 crore.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the government and accordingly, the Central government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country, the Union Minister added.

Shobha Karandlaje also said the various ministries/ departments of the Central government like the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, etc., are implementing different employment generation schemes/ programmes like Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

She further stated that the government announced, in the Budget 2024-25, the Prime Minister's package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a Central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore.

/IANS