New Delhi: The first-ever district-level periodic labour force survey (PLFS) for 2025 has revealed that more than 25% of the youth (in the age group of 15-29) in almost 250 districts across the country are not engaged in any productive work, and also not pursuing education or any sort of training for work, reported Times of India.The survey results, released by the Statistics Ministry on Friday (September 18) have revealed that in nearly two-thirds of districts in states such as Bihar, UP, Haryana, Punjab and West Bengal a quarter of the young population is categorised as NEET (not in employment, education or training).Similarly, in half of the districts in states including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Telangana 25% young population is categorised as NEET (not in employment, education or training).The Ministry’s report covered around 600 districts in major states and UTs. In some instances, it clubbed a few adjoining districts and treated them as a single unit.As per the survey, in around 25 districts, NEET is below 10%, including Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon and Uttar Baster Kanker in Chhattisgarh, Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, Ernakulam in Kerala, and Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. Nabarangpur in Odisha had the lowest NEET rate of 4.1%, reported Times of India.NEET comprises those who are not enrolled anywhere with any educational institution and have also withdrawn from the labour force altogether, owing to either attending to domestic unpaid duties, care work in the case of women or those who have stopped looking for work because of no suitable work being available. In some instances, the people include those preparing for exams or having leisure.The survey reveals that nearly three-fourth of total districts surveyed recorded a NEET rate of more than 25% for young women, highlighting the burden of unpaid domestic chores and societal expectations.Earlier, a recent report by NITI Aayog had stated that around 8.7 crore youngsters in India in the age group of 15 to 29 years are “not studying, working or receiving training. The report, titled ‘Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047’, is based on findings from the 78th round of National Sample Survey conducted in 2021. The Union government had later clarified that these people “cannot be crudely termed as unemployed.”Moreover, in March 2026, the ‘State of Working India 2026’ report by Azim Premji University had concluded that nearly 40% of youngsters in the age group of 15-25 were unemployed. The report had also noted that among graduates, only about 7% were able to find permanent salaried employment within a year.