Workers build a pontoon bridge in Prayagraj. File Image | Photo credit: PTI
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday (Mar 14, 2026) accused the Uttar Pradesh government of making “hyperbolic claims” about employment, claiming that around one-third of the state’s youth remain economically and educationally inactive – a level higher than the national average.
Citing Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) data, SP spokesperson Ram Pratap Singh said that while Uttar Pradesh’s official unemployment rate in 2022-23 was 2.4%, which was lower than the national average of 3.2%, the figure did not capture the full extent of youth leaving education and work.
According to the National Sample Survey 78th Round Multiple Indicator Survey 2020–21, 33.5% of youth aged 15–24 in Uttar Pradesh were not in education, employment or training (NEET), compared to the national average of 29.3%. In the 15-29 age group, the state’s NEET rate was 36.7%, higher than the national average of 32.9%. Among young women in the state, the rate was as high as 59.5%.
Mr Singh said the discrepancy arises because unemployment figures only count those who are actively looking for work in the labor force, while the NEET indicator captures all young people who are not in work, education or training.
“Even as the formal unemployment rate declines, nearly one-third of UP’s youth remain economically and educationally inactive, at levels above the national average. This suggests that while measured unemployment has improved, economic growth may not be translating into meaningful employment or skill development opportunities, especially for young women,” he said.
Another SP spokesperson, Nasser Salim, disputed the state government’s claims of investment and job creation.
He said the Global Investor Summit 2023 produced 18,643 MoUs worth ₹33.5 crore, while the government claimed to have created 7.5 to 8.5 million government jobs in the last eight years.
Mr. Salim also mentioned the Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission, which is said to have trained around 12 million people, of whom more than six million were said to be “directly linked to employment”.
“These numbers lack independent verification and the difference between ‘job-related’ and actual job placement remains undefined. Even if accepted, they represent modest gains compared to the youth of Uttar Pradesh and the scale of the NEET challenge,” he said.
Published – 14 March 2026 22:22 IST
