Unemployment in Nepal

Nepal's formal response to unemployment combines Employment Service Centers, local government verification and the National Employment Promotion Programme, formerly known as the Prime Minister Employment Programme. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security coordinates the national framework, while local levels and ward offices handle applications, verification and status decisions. The Social Security Fund operates contributory schemes for formal, informal, foreign and self-employed workers, but its current scheme list does not show a separately operating unemployment insurance benefit. A person generally applies through the permanent-residence ward office or an Employment Service Center. The main eligibility framework covers people aged 18 to 59 who have had less than 100 days of employment or self-employment income during the relevant fiscal year and whose income falls below the official threshold. Household conditions also apply: the household must not have a member in prescribed employment, regular self-employment, foreign employment or regular pension or benefit receipt. Local authorities verify the information before selecting participants. Women, Dalit people, economically poor households and families of deceased or missing persons receive priority under the stated criteria. The Employment Management Information System, usually called EMIS or NEMIS, records jobseeker, employer and project information. The guidance provides for an annual application deadline up to Falgun, while the practical registration period may operate for about two months around February and March. Employment Service Centers are intended to accept applications throughout the year, although local access and implementation differ. After local verification, the record should be updated within 15 days. A beneficiary identification number and a bank account are required before assignment; the account is intended to be a fee-free or zero-balance account. The legal employment-support framework provides for at least 100 days of labor-intensive work during a fiscal year through temporary local projects, subject to available projects and budgets. When the required minimum work cannot be provided, the subsistence allowance is set at 50% of the statutory minimum wage for 100 days. If a participant receives fewer than 100 days of work, the allowance can cover the remaining days under the applicable rules. The amount therefore changes with the current ministry minimum wage and the fiscal year. Selection, work allocation and payment are not automatic because they depend on local verification, project capacity, annual announcements and available funds. Refusing assigned work or training, or failing to meet reporting duties, can lead to delisting and loss of the allowance. A complaint under the relevant Act can be filed within 35 days with the competent Labour or Employment Office. The programme is not the same as ordinary job placement. Employment Service Centers provide vacancy information, matching and placement support, while the National Employment Promotion Programme is being developed as an integrated system of employment, skills and enterprise services involving federal, provincial and local authorities as well as private, cooperative and non-governmental providers. A person returning from foreign employment can use local employment services and EMIS. Foreign employment through the Department of Foreign Employment, FEIMS and foreignjob is a separate pathway and does not create an unemployment benefit; a household member in foreign employment can also affect eligibility for the subsistence allowance. Published unemployment figures depend on the survey and definition used. The Nepal Labour Force Survey 2017/18 recorded about 908,000 unemployed people and an unemployment rate of 11.4%. The Nepal Living Standards Survey IV for 2022/23 reported 12.6%, with 17.3% among poor people and 11.7% among non-poor people. The reported provincial rates ranged from 5.5% in Madhesh to 23.8% in Karnali. These figures should not be treated as a direct year-to-year trend because the surveys and definitions differ, and Nepal does not maintain a current monthly unemployment register.