Jammu and Kashmir is facing a deepening employment emergency that goes far beyond routine economic fluctuation, as the unemployment rate of around 6.7 per cent stands nearly double the national average, reflecting structural distress rather than a temporary slowdown. By all measurable standards, J&K cannot be compared with most other states and union territories because its economic evolution has been shaped by decades of terrorism, prolonged shutdowns, curfews, and security disruptions that have damaged generational productivity and limited private investment growth. The impact of continuous border tensions and shelling along the Line of Control has further displaced populations, disrupted agriculture, and discouraged long-term enterprise creation. Geography adds another layer of hardship, as extreme winters, heavy snowfall, and landslides frequently cut off large areas for weeks, choking supply chains and isolating markets.
In such conditions, earning a stable monthly income is not a normal livelihood challenge but a constant struggle for survival. The region’s vulnerability is further intensified by repeated natural calamities, including floods, cloudbursts, and unprecedented rainfall, which routinely destroy infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism-based livelihoods, pushing thousands back into unemployment cycles. The most painful aspect of the current situation is not limited to jobless youth alone but also includes experienced and skilled older individuals who remain unemployed despite years of expertise, indicating systemic stagnation in job creation. With limited industries, job opportunities are shrinking. While self-employment and entrepreneurship initiatives are positive steps, the ground reality remains hostile, where road blockades lasting days, snowfall disrupting logistics, and tourism volatility make business sustainability extremely difficult. Loan-based enterprise promotion assumes stable markets, but J&K’s economic unpredictability often turns businesses into survival ventures rather than growth engines.
The unemployment crisis therefore cannot be addressed through loans or training schemes alone. Both the central and local Governments must develop a special employment framework that combines public sector recruitment, climate-resilient infrastructure employment, industrial investment incentives, and tourism stabilisation mechanisms. Without structural intervention, unemployment risks becoming a long-term social stability challenge, as sustained joblessness gradually erodes public confidence, fuels economic distress, and threatens the region’s fragile socio-economic recovery process.
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