Unemployment is one of the most discussed topics in Nagaland, particularly among educated youth who are left frustrated by the lack of job opportunities in the state.
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Unemployment is one of the most discussed topics in Nagaland, particularly among educated youth who are left frustrated by the lack of job opportunities in the state. Their disappointment is evident in their interactions on social media platforms. As of December 31, 2025, a total of 72,871 unemployed youth were registered with the Employment Exchanges in Nagaland, which facilitate job registration, counselling, and placement, as per the Annual Administrative Report 2025–26 of the Directorate of Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The survey revealed that more than half of the applicants have been job hunting for over three years, highlighting the severity of the crisis. This is not surprising, as Nagaland lacks large-scale industries and companies, while the public sector has limited capacity, which is why lawmakers and officials have long been urging young people to consider career options beyond government jobs. What is surprising, however, is the poor participation in the recent job fair organised by the Nagaland Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Mission (NSEDM) under the Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) in collaboration with the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) Kohima, with an aim to connect job seekers with employers amid the growing unemployment issue in the state.
According to officials, as many as 6,456 vacancies across multiple sectors were to be filled at the state-wide Mega Job Fair 2026 held last week at the Integrated Business Hub and Innovation Centre, Dimapur. It was reported that 33 companies—local, domestic and international—participated in the fair to recruit potential candidates, but only about 900 (21 people appeared for interviews virtually) out of the total 1,884 registered turned up for the interviews. The response to this commendable initiative by the state government does not align with the outcry over the unemployment issue. Is this discrepancy due to a social obsession with government jobs, lack of awareness, high expectations, or skills mismatch? Could it be related to the recent surge in self-employment, which rose from 1,374 in 2024 to 23,091 in 2025, as noted in the recently released Annual Administrative Report, or is the issue not as severe as it is being made out to be? Well, complaining about the lack of job opportunities while refusing to seize the chances that arise will not lead us anywhere. Youth should grab opportunities made available to them and explore alternative careers. They should be willing to work. At the same time, the government must address this urgent socio-economic challenge—unemployment—confronting the state by supporting local entrepreneurs, promoting the private sector, focusing on skill development, and attracting investors through investor-friendly policies.