Odisha had an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent, which was higher than the national average of 3.2 per cent, Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Sampad Chandra Swain told the assembly on Friday. In a written reply to BJD MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo, Swain said Odisha was in the 21st position among all states and Union Territories in the unemployment rate as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23 conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). While the unemployment rate in the state's rural areas was 3.6 per cent, it was 6.2 per cent in the urban areas, he said. There were 11,04,229 youths -- 3,86,699 females and 7,17,530 males, who registered themselves with different employment exchanges in the state till May 31, 2024, he added. The highest number of 1,37,986 people registered at the special employment exchange for SC/ST. A total of 57,855 people registered with the employment exchange in Puri, followed by 54,001 people with the exchange in Berhampur in .