SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded more than seven lakh registrations of jobseekers on the National Career Services portal, according to data the Union Labour and Employment Ministry has placed before the Lok Sabha. The figures were shared in response to a Question raised by MPs Balwant Baswant Wankhade and Prashant Yadaorao Padole and answered by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on December 8.
The cumulative number of jobseekers who have registered on the portal from Jammu and Kashmir has now reached 7,91,881. This includes district-wise entries submitted over the past decade and reflects what officials describe as both a growing reliance on formal job-matching systems and the widening digital footprint in the Union Territory. The ministry’s data, compiled up to April 30, 2025, offers a granular view of how every district in the region has engaged with the national employment ecosystem.
Jammu district has recorded the highest number of registrations at 78,504, followed closely by Anantnag with 69,094 and Baramulla with 63,903. Srinagar has logged 51,117 registrations, while Badgam has recorded 49,379. Kathua has 47,734 entries, Kupwara 45,260, Pulwama 43,377, and Kulgam 40,459, marking these districts as the next major contributors to the overall tally. Samba has registered 32,350 jobseekers, Udhampur 34,384, Bandipore 34,634 and Ganderbal 28,625. Rajouri has recorded 28,528 registrations and Punch 28,394. Smaller hill districts such as Ramban and Doda have 23,284 and 21,498 respectively, while Reasi has 20,005 and Kishtwar 19,988. Shopian has logged only 1,030 registrations, the lowest among the twenty districts, though officials say this still indicates measurable uptake in a small population district. An additional 2,012 jobseekers appear under the “district not specified” category, suggesting that some users did not declare their location at the time of registration.
The year-wise trend shows a dramatic upward curve in portal usage. In 2015–16, only 4,743 jobseekers registered on the platform from Jammu and Kashmir. The numbers rose modestly to 9,664 in 2016–17 and then to 34,853 in 2017–18, before dipping to 8,450 in 2018–19 and rising again to 12,132 in 2019–20. The real jump begins from 2020–21 onwards when registrations touched 38,656. This figure almost tripled in the following year, with 1,01,918 registrations in 2021–22. The upward trajectory continued with 1,93,867 registrations in 2022–23 and 2,48,318 in 2023–24. In the current financial year, from April 2024 to April 30, 2025, 1,39,280 jobseekers have already registered. This steep escalation after 2020, particularly from 2021 onwards, aligns with both the expansion of digital access across the region and a perceptible rise in employment distress, drawing more young people to the national portal.
However, in a separate piece of information, the government put the number of active job seekers at 199676 of which 36981 have registered in 2026 till November 2026.
Nationwide, the portal has now crossed 6.02 crore jobseeker registrations and has more than 54.27 lakh employers on its rolls. The minister told the House that employers are not mandated to notify final hiring decisions on the portal, though more than 8.17 crore vacancies have been mobilised since its launch. He said the platform has evolved into a wide-ranging employment ecosystem that integrates job fairs, counselling services, skills listings and both online and offline placements through a network of Model Career Centres. A total of 407 such centres have been approved across the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir.
The statement laid on the table of the House includes State-wise and Union Territory-wise figures, district-wise breakups, category-wise data for women, SC, ST and EWS applicants, and the number of vacancies advertised every year. In Jammu and Kashmir, the data shows not only a sustained rise in registrations but also widening geographic spread, with both urban and rural districts showing engagement. Officials say the surge in the past four years suggests that jobseekers across the region are increasingly turning to digital platforms to navigate a tightening employment landscape.
The ministry has said that the portal is designed to provide discovery, matching and guidance rather than guarantee placements. However, it added that efforts to strengthen the Model Career Centres and improve the integration of skills and employment pipelines will continue, particularly in regions like Jammu and Kashmir where the year-on-year rise in registrations highlights both the scale of demand and the urgency of addressing it.
