Srinagar: Amid an unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) has received nearly 2.69 lakh applications for various advertised posts during the four-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 and recommended 3,594 candidates for appointment.
According to figures contained in JKPSC’s annual reports 2025-26, a sharp increase in the number of aspirants applying for government jobs has been recorded through the Commission, with applications reaching a four-year high of 94,546 in 2025-26.
In 2022-23, JKPSC received 37,880 applications and recommended 763 candidates. The number of applications almost doubled the following year, reaching 74,465 in 2023-24, when 958 candidates were recommended.
Applications declined to 62,208 in 2024-25, while the number of candidates recommended also fell to 721, the lowest figure of the four-year period.
The trend changed significantly in 2025-26, when applications surged to 94,546, an increase of more than 32,000 applications over the previous year and nearly 2.5 times the 2022-23 figure.
During the year, the Commission recommended 1,152 candidates, the highest annual selection figure during the four-year period.
The four-year figures indicate that the Commission received 269,099 applications in total and recommended 3,594 candidates. This means that, in simple numerical terms, there were roughly 75 applications for every candidate recommended over the four-year period. However, this ratio should not be treated as a selection rate because candidates can apply for multiple recruitment processes and the application and selection figures relate to different stages and recruitment exercises.
The annual trend is particularly notable in 2025-26, when the number of applications rose by around 52 per cent over 2024-25, while recommendations increased by nearly 60 per cent.
The data further shows that 2023-24 witnessed the second-highest number of applications at 74,465, while 2025-26 surpassed it by more than 20,000 applications.
Of the 94,546 applications received in 2025-26, 88,185 were for recruitment involving written examination and interview, while 6,361 were for recruitment through written examination alone. The Commission’s recommendations that year comprised 529 candidates through the written examination-and-interview route and 623 through written examination alone.
In 2022-23, the corresponding recommendation figures were 316 and 447; in 2023-24, 850 and 108; and in 2024-25, 314 and 407.
The sharp rise in applications comes amid intense competition for government employment in J&K.
The central takeaway from the four-year data is clear: applications have risen dramatically from 37,880 to 94,546 while annual recommendations increased from 763 to 1,152. The widening gap between the number of aspirants and the relatively limited number of posts underscores the intense competition for JKPSC recruitments.