The recently released Survey Report on Employment, Unemployment, Skill and Migration in Nagaland, 2025 by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics is a landmark effort. For a state long constrained by limited and fragmented statistics, this comprehensive exercise offers both a mirror and a map. It reflects the realities of households and workers across districts while charting directions for policymakers, researchers and administrators.
The findings are sobering. While the labour force participation rate stands at 56 percent, unemployment persists at a significant 16.07 percent. Even more concerning is that more than half of the unemployed have remained jobless for over three years, with 78 percent having no prior work experience. This suggests not just a lack of opportunities but also a deepening cycle of exclusion. Phek district, with an unemployment rate of 25 percent, highlights how localized challenges demand district-specific interventions. At the same time, the prevalence of self-employment, with 56 percent of respondents, points to resilience but also to the absence of structured, sustainable jobs.
Migration patterns underscore these concerns. The survey shows that 55 percent of migrants moved from rural to urban areas, many in search of better employment. Yet, even in their new settlements, wages remain modest. Before migration, 80 percent earned Rs 10,000 or less, and after resettling, only a third reported earnings in the range of Rs 10,000–20,000. This illustrates that migration is not always an upward journey but often a survival strategy.
Such statistics matter only if they translate into responsive policy. The creation of the Nagaland Sample Survey Unit in 2024 has been a commendable step, but its real value lies in how the state now chooses to act. Without timely and targeted policies, whether in skilling, job creation, social security or rural development, the report risks becoming another document shelved in government offices.
It is equally important that the data be as accurate as possible. Discrepancies or inflated numbers would undermine the credibility of the survey and mislead policy formulation. One hopes that the exercise was carried out with scientific rigor, as stated by the Department, so that its findings can serve as a reliable foundation for development strategies.
The effort of the DES deserves appreciation, but the onus now lies with the government and society at large. If Nagaland aspires to the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, then surveys like this must not only inform but also drive action. Numbers, after all, are not just statistics; they are the lived realities of people seeking better futures.
