Archive · 24 Sep 2026
India’s District Data Shows Youth Disconnection From Jobs, Skills
A new government report looks at what young people aged 15 to 29 are doing in each Indian district.
It counts young people who are not working, studying, or taking job training.
Almost one in four districts had more than 30% of young people in this situation.
Nearly half had rates between 20% and 30%.
Some places, such as Ernakulam and Coimbatore, had much lower rates.
The report also shows that districts differ greatly in work participation, employment, and women’s participation.
The government runs several programs to teach job skills, but training does not always lead to a job.
The report says local governments need district-specific information to design better policies.
It does not identify the causes of the differences between districts.
Nearly 23.7% of Indian districts recorded youth NEET rates above 30% in 2025.
Another 45.9% of districts reported NEET rates between 20% and 30%.
Ernakulam recorded the lowest youth NEET rate at 9.6%, followed by Coimbatore at 14.5%.
The district-level survey covered 272,000 households across 22,692 rural and urban survey units.
Despite government skilling efforts, reported placements under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana remained far below training and certification totals.
- Who
- Indian youth aged 15–29, along with government agencies studying employment and skills.
- What
- The National Statistical Office’s district-level labour-market report measures youth NEET rates and other employment indicators.
- When
- The findings concern 2025; the district-based survey framework was introduced in January 2025.
- Where
- Across districts in India.
- Why
- To provide more detailed local evidence for employment, skilling, and development planning.
- Youth population share
- People aged 15–29 account for around 27% of India’s population.
- High NEET districts
- 23.7% of districts had youth NEET rates above 30% in 2025.
- Middle NEET range
- 45.9% of districts recorded NEET rates between 20% and 30%.
- Lowest reported NEET rate
- Ernakulam, Kerala, recorded 9.6%, followed by Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, at 14.5%.
- Survey coverage
- The study covered 272,000 households and 22,692 First Stage Units.
- Female labour participation
- Women’s labour-force participation exceeded 40% in nearly 58% of districts.
- Skilling outcomes
- The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana dashboard listed 2.85 million trained, 1.96 million certified, and 200,932 placements as of September 23, 2026.