At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has rendered lakhs of people jobless across the country, Uttar Pradesh, however, was able to provide jobs to the maximum number of people.

According to a survey carried, a total of 1,10,000 people were given employment under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The jobs were provided from April to August, Live Hindustan has reported.

The report further stated that during the COVID-19 lockdown, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the state which gave employment to the highest number of people.

The employments were given in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, under the PMEGP

A total of 14,616 people were given jobs in the state in the MSME sector, the report added.

Uttar Pradesh was followed by Jammu and Kashmir, which generated the second-highest number of jobs.

During the COVID-19 lockodwn period from April to August, Jammu and Kashmir provided employment to a total of 11,064 people.

This was the highest number of jobs provided by any government among the Union Territories of the country,

Following are employment figures of some other states, till August 31: Bihar (3,168), Haryana (3,008), Uttarakhand (2,344), Jharkhand (1,336) and Delhi (72).

The employment figures from last year are as follows: Uttar Pradesh (48,960), Jammu and Kashmir (42,840), Bihar (17,768), Haryana (16,232), Uttarakhand (14,752), Jharkhand (12,352) and Delhi (744).

The figures were given by the Union MSME ministry in Lok Sabha.

While 1,10,000 jobs have generated thus far in the financial year 2020-21, 533,000 lakh jobs were generated in 2019-20. 587,000 and 387,000 people got jobs in 2018-19 and 2017-18 respectively.