Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told the Assembly on Thursday that the government is actively implementing multiple policy interventions to address unemployment in Meghalaya through skill development, promotion of entrepreneurship, and investment-driven programmes.
Responding to a question raised by TMC MLA from Rajabala, Dr. Mizanur Rahman Kazi during the Question Hour, the Chief Minister said flagship initiatives such as FOCUS, FOCUS Plus, CM Elevate, Skill Meghalaya, and several agriculture and livelihood missions are aimed at generating employment opportunities, particularly at the grassroots level.
Sangma stated that government interventions have helped create approximately 3.66 lakh job opportunities across sectors.
Citing official data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, Sangma informed that the unemployment rate in the state was 6.0 percent in 2022–23 and 6.2 percent in 2023–24. He also referred to estimates by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which reported comparatively lower unemployment figures, noting that variations occur due to different survey methodologies.
The Chief Minister highlighted that Meghalaya has a very young population, with nearly half below the age of 20, which adds to the challenge of job creation but also presents opportunities for future workforce growth. He said schemes like CM Elevate have been designed to ensure easy access to self-employment support, especially for youth and weaker sections, with simplified online application systems.
However, Dr. Kazi expressed concern over the slight increase in unemployment despite multiple government interventions and questioned whether the schemes are achieving measurable outcomes. He also sought details on beneficiary coverage under the FOCUS programme and asked what measures are in place to ensure that youths from low-income families without collateral or prior business experience can access self-employment schemes.
In response, the Chief Minister said over 2.1 lakh individuals have benefited under FOCUS and 1.5 lakh beneficiaries under FOCUS Plus, adding that the programmes are providing working capital support to farmer and producer groups to enhance income generation.
He maintained that while more efforts are required, the government is confident that ongoing programmes and increased private investment will help reduce unemployment in the coming years.