Andhra Pradesh has 6.16 lakh unemployed youth who have registered themselves with the Government Employment Exchanges. According to the State government data, until January 2022, out of the total 6,16,689 unemployed, men accounted for 4,22,055 while the rest are women.
Visakhapatnam district tops the list of the unemployed with 98,504, followed by 64,294 in Kurnool and 58,837 in Cuddapah. Ananthapuram has the lowest registrations at 11,469.
Lower than national average
A comparison with the data of Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 of the Government of India (updated figures for 2021-22 not available yet) shows the unemployment rate is slightly lower in Andhra Pradesh (4.7 per cent) when compared to the national average (4.8 per cent).
Unemployment is highest among people aged between 15 and 29 years and as age advances, the problem appears to cease. One reason that could be attributed to is the inclination among younger adults towards education.
Higher participation among women
The PLFS survey also revealed clear-cut gender differences in work participation rates (WPR), both in Andhra Pradesh and at the All-India level. The WPR among young people (15-29 years) is the lowest both in Andhra Pradesh and the national level, and this is generally true for rural and urban areas; but more prominently in case of urban females (17.6 per cent) as compared to 31.1 per cent in rural areas.
The relatively higher work participation rates of females in rural areas could be due to the livelihood and employment generating works like MGNREGS. One solace in this regard for Andhra Pradesh is that the WPR for females in all age groups (34.9 per cent) is higher in rural areas than of the national average (24 per cent).