Is J&K's Private Sector Ready for Its Own Youth?

After my bachelors I came back to J&K and started preparing for UPSC. I wanted a part-time job to support myself, so I opened the job portals. Everything I saw was in Delhi, Noida, Chandigarh or some other neighbouring state, and almost nothing was in J&K. That made me ask a question I think we should be asking more loudly: is J&K's private sector ready for its own youth?

Key point: For many educated young people here, "private sector" means side income while waiting for a government post, not a career.

What Private Work Looks Like for Us

Look at the people around you preparing for JKSSB. Under the new standards, preparation takes hours every day, so the only work that fits is something flexible. Here is what that usually means:

• Evening tuitions for a few batches
• Delivery and ride work for Blinkit or Rapido
• Whatever small job can be managed around a full-time exam routine

The job portals tell the same story. Search Indeed or a similar site for Delhi, Noida or Chandigarh and you get pages of options. Search for J&K and you get a handful. A sales job will have 300+ applicants for one vacancy. A school teaching post will have already stopped accepting applications, because it was filled through referrals.

The Fee Trap

Say someone does find a private job with a small fixed salary. At the back of their mind, part of that salary is already earmarked for the next JKSSB application fee, and the job leaves them little time to prepare. These fees add up.

For just 75 naib tehsildar posts, JKSSB collected over Rs 6.43 crore in application fees, according to an RTI reply. That points to over one lakh applicants, and the fee is not returned if recruitment is deferred.

What the Data Says

• Unemployment rate: J&K was at 6.1% in July to September 2025, against 5.2% for India. In urban areas it was 10.6%.
• Urban youth (15 to 29): 32% were unemployed in July to September 2024, nearly double the national rate.

The government has a real case too. The Deputy Chief Minister told the Assembly that Rs 14,948 crore of private investment has come in since 2022-23, creating 64,515 jobs. I'm glad that money is arriving. But look at the same figures year by year:

Year	Investment (Rs crore)	Jobs
2022-23	2,153	15,719
2023-24	3,389	29,969
2024-25	4,145	11,396
2025-26 (till December)	5,260	7,431

Key point: Since 2023-24, investment has risen every year while the jobs have fallen every year. The last year covers only nine months, but the direction is clear.

Even taking all 64,515 jobs at face value, that is less than a fifth of the 3.52 lakh youth registered as unemployed in early 2024.

Why People Leave

There is no proper framework in J&K that takes a young person from skill training to a stable private job. So those who want one usually have to leave the state. The government's own skill development department has acknowledged a skill deficit among youth, a preference for government jobs, and brain drain as a major threat.

I agree with the first and the third. On the second, I'd say a government job is a rational choice here. It is permanent, it has a pension, and nobody lays you off. Until a private job offers something close to that security, telling youth to change their mindset asks them to carry all the risk.

What "Ready" Would Look Like

• Publish job quality, not only the count: salary, permanent or contract, and how many go to local youth.
• Build training with employers, so a diploma leads to a named job inside J&K.
• Make local hiring visible. A job portal that shows J&K vacancies honestly, including how many people have applied, would help.
• Release district-wise numbers, so we know whether new jobs reach every district.

My Answer

Is J&K's private sector ready for its own youth? Not yet. Many of us are ready for the private sector, but we are being asked to prove it in a market that hasn't finished building itself. Readiness has to come from both sides, and I would start with the side that holds the budget and the policy.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is the unemployment rate in J&K?

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey, it was 6.1% in July to September 2025, against 5.2% for India. In urban J&K it was 10.6%.

Q2. How high is youth unemployment in J&K?

The same survey series showed 32% of urban youth aged 15 to 29 unemployed in July to September 2024, nearly double the national rate.

Q3. How much private investment has J&K received, and how many jobs did it create?

The Deputy Chief Minister told the Assembly in February 2026 that Rs 14,948 crore of private investment has come in since 2022-23, creating 64,515 jobs across 1,459 industrial units.

Q4. How much did JKSSB collect in fees for 75 naib tehsildar posts?

Over Rs 6.43 crore, according to an RTI reply reported in August 2025. The fee was Rs 600 for the general category and Rs 500 for reserved categories.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece and the views are the author's own. Figures are taken from the reports listed below and may change as new data is released.