Haryana’s Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, has informed the state Assembly that the unemployment rate in the state is just over six per cent. During Question Hour, Congress MLA Chiranjeev Rao had asked whether unemployment had increased in Haryana over the past eight years and what steps had been taken to bring it down. Referring to data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Rao had claimed that the unemployment rate in Haryana was 9.3 per cent. However, Khattar dismissed these figures as “unreliable” and stated that the unemployment rate in February 2023 stood at 6.46 per cent.
The opposition parties have frequently targeted the BJP-JJP government in the state over the issue of high unemployment.
Rao cited Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data to support his claim that Haryana has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 29.4 percent. He also highlighted the large number of highly qualified candidates who had applied for just six clerk positions in Panipat, saying that this was indicative of the state’s unemployment situation. Khattar argued that CMIE data cannot be relied upon, and pointed out that their unemployment figures frequently change. He stated that CMIE’s sample size of 5,000 is too small for the entire state’s employable population of 1.86 crore, and that the government’s own figures show a decline in unemployment over the past few years. Khattar also mentioned that the government has generated over one lakh government jobs during the past eight years. Meanwhile, in a written reply to a question raised by the Congress member, it was noted that the reliable and authentic data source for employment in the country and all states and UTs is the PLFS conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation, government of India.