Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji

Panaji, Apr 26: Less than a month after official data ranked Goa highest in unemployment in the country, the state government has initiated steps to conduct its own study of the job market.

The Department of Planning and Statistics has issued a request for proposal (RFP) to appoint an agency for a state-level employment survey, aimed at capturing local realities more accurately.

According to officials, the study will rely on state-specific criteria rather than national datasets. They argue that existing surveys, including the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), do not adequately reflect Goa’s tourism-driven, seasonal and informal economy.

The government has maintained that such limitations have led to a misinterpretation of the state’s employment situation.

The proposed survey will analyse employment trends, challenges and opportunities, and provide policy recommendations at the state, district and taluka levels.

The selected agency will be required to complete the study within three months. The methodology will include large-scale field surveys, interviews, case studies and data analysis, with digital data collection supported by GPS-based systems.

The move follows the PLFS report released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which pegged Goa’s unemployment rate at 8.3 per cent for the period between January and December 2025, the highest in the country.

The national average stood at 3.1 per cent. Nagaland recorded 6.7 per cent unemployment, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 6.6 per cent, while Gujarat reported the lowest rate at 0.9 per cent.

Within Goa, rural unemployment was significantly higher at 11.9 per cent, compared to 6.1 per cent in urban areas. Rural men recorded 12.1 per cent unemployment, while rural women stood at 11.4 per cent. In urban areas, the rate was 6.6 per cent for men and 4.8 per cent for women.

The state government has earlier argued that the figures may be inflated, as many individuals employed in private jobs continue to remain registered with employment exchanges in the hope of securing government positions.

Officials believe this practice artificially raises unemployment numbers.

The new survey is expected to generate more accurate, Goa-specific data and will be shared with national agencies, though it remains to be seen whether it will alter the state’s current standing in unemployment rankings.