Over 6,000 youths from across Meghalaya have registered themselves for an army recruitment drive, which commenced here on Thursday, pointing to a job crunch elsewhere.

According to official data, 6,417 youths registered for the recruitment drive which will continue till Saturday.

These include 1,354 from East Khasi Hills, 74 from East Garo Hills, 902 from Jaintia Hills, 175 from North Garo Hills, 974 from Ri Bhoi, 27 from South Garo Hills, 580 from South West Garo Hills, 388 from South West Khasi Hills, 1,049 from West Garo Hills and 864 youths from West Khasi Hills, defence public relations officer Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said.

The drive started on Thursday morning at Assam Regimental Centre, Happy Valley, Shillong where youths from Ri Bhoi and Jaintia Hills participated. On Friday, those who applied from Garo hills would take part while youths from the Khasi hills will participate on Saturday.

The recruitment will be for various duties which includes general, technical, clerk, nursing assistants and tradesmen.

To prepare for the recruitment drive, members of the Umroi Block Youth Congress Assembly, along with local MLA George B. Lyngdoh, and in collaboration with the Umroi army cantonment in Ri Bhoi district, had recently conducted a pre-recruitment exercise to acquaint the youth with the requirements.

The huge number of applicants for army jobs indicates the lack of employment opportunities here.

Last year, the Assembly was told that Meghalaya predominantly suffers from structural unemployment.

The government had said Meghalaya has the largest pool of people of employable age and an equally large number of students are poised to enter the job market when they complete their education and training. While Meghalaya has registered a high percentage of literacy, the employability rate has been dropping owing to dearth of skill, knowledge and experience.

The government also said that barely 15 to 20 per cent of the youths get absorbed in formal employment. The rest have to find their way into the informal sector or run their own enterprises for survival. Though educational attainment has risen quickly in recent years, gaining a foothold in the labour market remains elusive for many youths.

Till 2017, 43,371 people had registered in the employment exchanges in the state.