On 23rd September 2024, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the “7th Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (July 2023 to June 2024)”. As per the report, Unemployment Rate (UR) in usual status (ps+ss) for persons aged 15 years and above has remained unchanged at 3.2% during July 2023 to June 2024.
- The UR for male aged 15 years and above saw a marginal decrease from 3.3% in 2022-23 to 3.2% in 2023-24. While, UR for female aged 15 years and above has increased from 2.9% in 2022-23 to 3.2% in 2023-24.
- The UR in urban areas has decreased from 5.4% in 2022-23 to 5.1% in 2023-24 and in rural areas, UR has increased from 2.4% in 2022-23 to 2.5% in 2023-24.
Assessment:
i.The 7th annual report by NSSO is based on the PLFS conducted during July 2023 to June 2024.
ii.Out of the total number of 12,800 First Stage Units (FSUs), 12,743 FSUs (6,975 villages and 5,768 urban blocks)have been surveyed during July 2023-June 2024.
iii.The number of households surveyed was 1,01,920, of which 55,796 in rural areas and 46,124 in urban areas
iv.The number of persons surveyed was 4,18,159, of which 2,42,546 in rural areas and 1,75,613 in urban areas.
- Among the total number of persons surveyed, 3,19,773(1,80,793 in rural areas and 1,38,980)persons are of the age of 15 years and above.
Points to Note:
i.In Usual Status (ps+ss), employment is determined on the basis of a reference period of 365 days preceding the date of the survey.
- PS stands for Principal Activity Status.
- SS stands for Subsidiary Economic Activity Status.
ii.In Employment Status, it is determined on the basis of a reference period of 7 days, which is known as the Current Weekly Status (CWS) of the person.
Estimates of key labour market indicators in usual status (ps+ss):
Increase in LFPR in usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above:
i.At all India level, Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR) in usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 57.9% (in 2022-23) to 60.1% (in 2023-24).
ii.LFPR for female has increased from 37.0% (in FY23) to 41.7% (in 2023-2024). While, LFPR for male of same age group in usual status (ps+ss) has increased from 78.5% to 78.8% in July 2023-June 2024.
iii.In rural areas, LFPR has increased from 60.8% in 2022-23 to 63.7% in 2023-24.
- LFPR for male in rural areas remained unchanged at 80.2% and for female it increased from 41.5% (in 2022-23) to 47.6% (in 2023-24).
iv.In urban areas, LFPR has increased from 50.4% (in 2022-23) to 52.0% (in 2023-24).
- While, LFPR for male and female in urban areas has increased to 75.6% and 28.0% respectively in 2023-24.
Increase in WPR in usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above:
i.Overall WPR in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 56.0% (in 2022-23) to 58.2% (in 2023-24).
ii.WPR for male of same age group in usual status (ps+ss) has increased marginally by 3 basis points (bps) i.e. from 76.0% (in FY23) to 76.3% (in 2023-2024).
- While, WPR for female has increased from 35.9% to 40.3% in July 2023-June 2024.
iii.In urban areas, WPR has increased from 47.7% (in 2022-23) to 49.4% (in 2023-24).
- While, WPR for male and female in urban areas has increased to 72.3% and 26.0% respectively, in 2023-24.
iv.In rural areas, WPR has increased from 59.4% (in 2022-23) to 62.1% (in 2023-24).
- While, WPR for male and female in rural areas has increased to 78.1% and 46.5% respectively, in 2023-24.
Estimates of key labour market indicators in CWS:
Increase in LFPR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above:
i.At all India level, LFPR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 54.6% (in 2022-23) to 56.4% (in 2023-24).
ii.LFPR for female and male of same age group in CWS has increased to 35.6% and 77.5% respectively, in 2023-2024.
iii.In rural areas, LFPR has increased from 56.7% in 2022-23 to 58.9% in 2023-24.
- LFPR for male in rural areas has increased to 78.7% in 2023-24 and for female it increased to 39.7% (in 2023-24).
iv.In urban areas, LFPR has increased from 49.4% (in 2022-23) to 50.8% (in 2023-24).
- While, LFPR for male and female in urban areas has increased to 75.0% and 26.1% respectively, in 2023-24.
Increase in WPR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above:
i.Overall WPR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above has increased marginally from 51.8% (in 2022-23) to 53.7% (in 2023-24).
ii.WPR for both male and female of same age group in CWS has increased marginally to 73.8% and 33.8% respectively, in 2023-2024.
iii.In urban areas, WPR has increased from 46.0% (2022-2023)to 47.4% (in 2023-24).
- While, WPR for male and female in urban areas has increased to 70.5% and 23.9% respectively, in 2023-24.
iv.In rural areas, WPR has increased from 54.2% (in 2022-23) to 56.5% (in 2023-24).
- While, WPR for male and female in rural areas has increased to 75.3% and 38.1% respectively, in 2023-24.
Decrease in UR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above:
i.Overall UR in CWS for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased marginally from 5.1% (in 2022-23) to 4.9% (in 2023-24).
ii.UR for both male and female of same age group in CWS has decreased marginally to 4.8% and 5.0% respectively, (in 2023-2024).
iii.In urban areas, UR has decreased from to 6.7% (in 2023-24).
- While, UR for male and female in urban areas has decreased to 6.0% and 8.7% respectively, in 2023-24.
iv.In rural areas, UR has decreased from 4.4% (in 2022-23) to 4.2% (in 2023-24).
- While, UR for male and female in rural areas has decreased to 4.4% and 3.9% respectively, in 2023-24.
About PLFS:
NSSO has been conducting PLFS since April 2017 to achieve the following two main objectives:
i.It aims to estimate the main employment and unemployment indicators such as: Work Population Ratio (WPR), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), and UR, in the short time interval of 3 months for the urban areas only in the “Current Weekly Status” (CWS).
ii.It also aims to estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘Usual Status’ (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas on annual basis.
- So far, 6 annual reports have been released that covered both rural and urban areas giving estimates of all important parameters of employment and unemployment in both usual status and CWS.
Important Terms:
i.UR: It is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons among the labour force.
ii.LFPR: It is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force i.e. working or seeking or available for work in the population.
iii.WPR: It is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
iv.CWS: The activity status is determined on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the Current Weekly Status (CWS) of the person.
Recent Related News:
28th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO), organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), was held at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath, New Delhi, Delhi from 12th to 13th August 2024. The conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) Rao Inderjit Singh, MOSPI. The theme of discussion of the conference was “Use of Data for Decision Making: Strengthening State Statistical Systems”.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementaion (MoSPI):
Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge-IC) – Rao Inderjit Singh (Constituency- Gurugram, Haryana)
