Demand for unskilled labour under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) rose significantly in May and continued to climb during the first week of June, official data shows.

Figures released by the Ministry of Rural Development reveal that 28.39 million households sought work under the scheme in May 2025, up from 27.18 million in the same month last year.

The upward trend persisted into June, with 13.48 million households seeking employment in just the first seven days, compared to a total of 26.40 million for the entire month of June in 2024, Mint reported.

Despite the growing reliance on the rural employment guarantee programme, the Union government has not increased its financial allocation for the scheme in the current fiscal year.

The Narendra Modi-led government has allocated Rs 86,000 crore for MGNREGS in the Union Budget 2024–25, presented in July last year. This figure matches both the original budget estimate and the revised estimate for the previous fiscal, indicating no increase in funding despite the rising demand.

Traditionally, higher demand for work under MGNREGS has been viewed as a sign of distress in rural job markets, often correlating with declining availability of agricultural or non-agricultural employment.

A recent report by LibTech India titled “The Missing Work: A National Review of MGNREGA Implementation (FY 2024–25)” found that although the number of registered workers and job cards under the scheme increased in 2024–25, the actual generation of work fell.

The study also noted a significant net reduction in participation over the past two years, with 5.9 crore workers and 2.1 crore families being removed from the scheme’s active rolls.

These developments highlight the growing strain on MGNREGS as rural households continue to depend on the scheme for livelihood support in the absence of adequate employment opportunities, while government support remains stagnant.