According to Quarterly Bulletin Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (July to September 2023), released by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), unemployment rate (UR) in urban areas fell from 7.2% in July –September 2022 to 6.6% in July – September 2023 for persons of age 15 years and above.
- This bulletin for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) is the 20th edition of the series.
Note: The UR in January-March 2023 was at 6.8% and in April-June 2023 was at 6.6%.
Sample Size:
A total of 5,706 First Stage Units – FSUs Urban Frame Survey (UFS blocks) were surveyed in urban areas across India during the third quarter of 2023 (July-September). This included 44,738 households and 1,70,004 individuals.
Unemployment Rate:
i.For male, the UR in urban area decreased to 6.0% in July-September 2023, from 6.6% in the corresponding quarter of FY23.
- The UR for male was at 6% in January – March 2023 and at 5.9 in April – June 2023.
ii.For female,UR in urban areas decreased to 8.6% in July-September 2023, from 9.4% in the corresponding quarter of FY23.
- The UR for female was at 9.2% in January – March 2023 and at 9.1 in April – June 2023.
Note: UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
Increasing Trend in Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):
i.The report indicates that in urban areas, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in the current weekly status (CWS) increased to 49.3% in the July to September quarter of 2023, up from 47.9% in the corresponding period in 2022.
ii.The LFPR was at 48.8% in April-June 2023, 48.5% in January-March 2023, and 48.2% in October-December 2022.
Note: LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
Increasing Trend in Worker Population Ratio (WPR):
i.The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in urban areas has increased to 46.0% in July – September 2023 from 44.5% in July-September 2022.
ii.For males, there was an increase from 68.6% to 69.4%, while for females, it rose from 19.7% to 21.9%.
Note: WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
About PLFS:
i.PLFS was launched by the NSSO in April 2017 to estimate key employment and unemployment indicators for every three months for the urban areas only in the CWS.
- Key employment and unemployment Indicators are LFPR, WPR and UR
ii.It also estimates employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘Usual Status’ and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
Recent Related News:
On October 9, 2023, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 6th Annual Report ‘Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) [July, 2022 – June, 2023]’ stating Unemployment rate (UR) at 6-year low of 3.2% in 2022-23 under the Usual Status (ps+ss). It was 6% in 2017-18.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh (Constituency- Gurugram, Haryana)
Secretary– G P Samanta
