SHIMLA: In Himachal, the state with one of the highest literacy rates in the country, there are nearly about 9 lakh educated youth who are unemployed. Ironically, the population of the state just stands at nearly 70 lakh.
In the first day of the monsoon session this data was presented in the assembly on Monday. And these numbers are on the books, it is likely that there would be more unemployed-uneducated youth in the state who are off the record Consequently, amid the pandemic as many as lakhs of people including educated youth have lost their jobs due to lockdown and closure of establishments throughout the country and Himachal.
This was stated by Industries Minister Bikram Singh Thakur in a written reply to a query raised by Congress MLAs Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Vikramaditya Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri.
The written reply which came from the Industries Minister has reflected the very high rate of unemployment in the state, presenting a disturbing picture.
There are 4,04,819 unemployed youth who are qualified upto higher secondary level, 1,95548 are matriculate, 1,36517 are graduate, 76,318 post graduate and 33,007 under matriculate respectively.
According to the data laid in the house, till January 31, 2020, the registered number of educated in the employment offices of the state was 8,46,209, out of which the government could provide employment to only 28661 unemployed people in last two years.
It is important to mention that the figures presented here in the assembly were compiled before the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile thousands of youth of Himachal have become unemployed during the pandemic itself.
Together, the number of unemployed in the state will be much higher, which is certainly a matter of concern for the small but a literate state like Himachal.