Unemployment the most burning issue in the country, says Mallikarjun Kharge

New Delhi: Unemployment is the most burning issue in the country, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday.

In an apparent attack on the BJP-led Centre, Kharge said in a post on X in Hindi, "The youth of the country are asking where are the two crore jobs per year? Why is the process between recruitment exams and securing a job so complicated?"

"Unemployment is the most burning issue in the country," he said.

Citing the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) of July 2022-June 2023, he said, "The unemployment rate for persons aged 15-“29 years is 10 per cent."

Quoting the PLFS data, the Congress president said rural unemployment in the country in the age group of 15-19 years stood at 8.3 per cent in the July 2022-June 2023 period, while urban unemployment for the same category in this period was higher at 13.8 per cent.

"Why was the MSME sector destroyed, jobs of crores of youth were snatched away and their future ruined?" his post added.