The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the “Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) July 2023- June 2024)”, which indicates unemployment rates among India’s religious minorities in India increased in 2023-24 (1 July 2023 to 30 June, 2024).
- While the national average unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.2% for the first time in 5 years, joblessness among minorities, particularly Sikhs and Muslims, saw notable increases.
- Unemployment for all minorities was higher in urban areas compared to the rural side during 2023-24. This situation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by these communities.
Note: The PLFS provides valuable estimates of key employment and unemployment indicators, including the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR).
Key Findings :
i.According to the survey, Sikhs faced the highest unemployment rate among religious minorities, rising from 5.1% in 2022-23 to 5.8% in 2023-24.
ii.Similarly, the unemployment rate among Muslims rose from 2.4% to 3.2%,
iii.The unemployment rate among Christians rose from 4.5% to 4.7% during the same period.
iv.In contrast, the unemployment rate among Hindus saw a slight decline of 0.1 % compared to the previous year.
v.The unemployment rate declined for all religious segments in 2023-24 compared to the pre-Covid year of 2019-20.
Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR):
i.The MoSPI also reports labor force participation rates (LFPR) which have shown growth across various communities since 2017-18, Muslims and Sikhs still lag behind the national average.
ii.While LFPR has increased by over 8% for most religious groups, Muslims and Sikhs have seen more modest improvements.
- The LFPR among Muslims increased from 31.2% to 38.2%, while Sikhs saw a rise from 36.2% to 44.5%. Christians also experienced growth in their participation rates, climbing from 39.2% to 47.4% during the same period.
iii.The overall Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in India rose from 36.9% in 2017-18 to 45.1% in 2023-24.
iv.This upward trend in LFPR across different religious communities indicates improving engagement in the labor market, although disparities still exist.
Employment Quality and Literacy Rates:
i.In the last five years, the share of regular salaried employees declined across religious communities, with Muslims experiencing the largest drop from 21.5% in 2019-20 to 18% in 2023-24.
ii.Meanwhile, Muslims’ literacy rates rose from 75% in 2019-20 to 77.6% in 2023-24, remaining the lowest compared to substantial increases among Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians.
- Overall, literacy rate was up from 77.6% in 2019-20 by 2.1% to 79.7% in 2023-24.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Minister of State (MoS)(Independent Charge /IC)– Rao Inderjit Singh (Constituency- Gurugram ,Haryana)
