Unemployment has led to the mass migration of Punjab youth outside India.

Young adults from Punjab are moving to foreign countries in search of work due to a high unemployment rate in the state.

Young adults from Punjab are moving to foreign countries in search of work due to a high unemployment rate in the state.Unemployment has been rampant in the state of Punjab, and as a result, youths are seeking better opportunities elsewhere. The data compiled by the Periodic Labor Force Survey(PLFS) in collaboration with National Statistical Office(NSO) between July 2019 and June 2020 indicated that Punjab had the highest unemployment rate at 15.8 percent.

A study conducted in 2020 by the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar on "Mass migration of Youth from Punjab to Developed countries" concluded that the higher rates of unemployment, low wages, bureaucracy, corruption, quota system, increased population, lack of awareness of government policies, dreams of luxurious lives, peer pressure, and competition have contributed to the mass migration of youth in the state.

Furthermore, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha pointed out based on the issuance of passports in India that about 4.78 lakh people from Punjab moved abroad for employment since 2016. This data was presented in the Lok Sabha in March 2021. With a total of about 1.37 crore Indians moving abroad for employment between January 2018 and March 18, 2021, Punjab is in third place after Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra on the list, reported the Times of India.

A case study published online by the Indian Journal of Economics and Development also highlighted similar reasons for youth migration in Punjab.