Indias unemployment rate is lowest among G20 nations, says Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

NEW DELHI: Citing a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, said the unemployment rate in the country stood at 2%, making it the lowest among G20 nations. The forum had released `The Future of Jobs Report 2025 on January 7, 2025. A release from the Labour Ministry said Mandaviya was speaking at a meeting on Monday aftersigning two separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on behalf of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, one with Mentor Together and another with Quikr'. The agreements aim at enhancing employment opportunities as well as youth employability on the National Career Service (NCS) portal. The partnership with Mentor Together is expected to reach two lakh youth in its first year, with one lakh entrants each from NCS and Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana. It will also enable first-time job seekers, particularly those from underserved backgrounds, to access personalised guidance from over 24,000 trained professionals, the agreement states. The MoU renewal with Quikr aims to further strengthen the employment ecosystem by integrating over 1,200 daily job listings across 1200 plus cities from Quikr Jobs with the NCS portal, it said. This collaboration will expand real-time access to job opportunities for millions of seekers, especially from rural and underserved regions, the release said. Mandaviya said, The NCS platform, with nearly 52 lakh registered employers, 5.79 crore job seekers and over 7.22 crore vacancies mobilised, is now evolving to offer not just job listings but a one-stop solution for all employment-related services. Currently, there are over 44 lakh active vacancies on the portal. Over the past year, the Ministry has signed MoUs with ten organisations, including Amazon and Swiggy. These partnerships have already mobilised nearly five lakh vacancies, he stated. The Minister said the collaboration with the two firms would facilitate structured mentoring to job seekers, particularly in light of the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, whichwas launched in August this year. Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, noted that NCS has emerged as Indias premier platform for digital employment facilitation, offering job matching, counselling, and skilling at one place. This partnership will not only facilitate our young people in securing employment, but also make the right kind of handholding available to them, she said.