Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 26: The Unemployment Rate (UR) among persons of age 15 years and above in Odisha has decreased from 5.1 percent in 2022 to 2.9 percent in 2025, according to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data
The estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the State has increased from 55.1 percent in 2022 to 61.3 percent in 2025, the report said.
Notably, official estimates of employment and unemployment in India are derived from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017–18.
The PLFS methodology was revamped with effect from January 2025, with the introduction of monthly employment and unemployment estimates as one of its key revisions.
Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government of India is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country including Odisha.
To generate employment, the Government is also implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, such as, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS),
National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated ‘FutureSkills PRIME’ a programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), officials said.
Similarly, the Ministry of MSME launched Udyam Registration Portal on July 1, 2020 for formalizing enterprises, expanding access to government support and strengthening the MSME ecosystem.
A total of 8.9 crore Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been registered on Udyam Registration Portal, including Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), providing employment to over 39 crore people across the country.
Loans have been sanctioned to 36.86 lakh small traders and businessmen of Odisha under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) while 90,513 street vendors of Odisha availed loan under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) during FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.
Similarly, 3,75,017 employment generated through Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during FY 2008-09 to FY 2025-26, the data said.
In the State 1024751 person days generated through MGNREGA or Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G).
Under skill training initiatives, the government has provided training to 1,77,853 candidates under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and 2.38 lakh candidates under the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs).
Besides, the Government is implementing Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years.
The PMVBRY is a demand-driven scheme. Since the implementation of the scheme, an incentive amount of Rs 11.21 crore has been disbursed to 21,875 lakh first-time employees under Part A, while Rs 33.75 crore has been disbursed to 1,354 beneficiary establishments under Part B of the scheme, up to June 2026, in the State of Odisha.
Further, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc through a digital platform (www.ncs.gov.in).
