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As per quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS) Unemployment rate in urban areas rose to 9.1 per cent in January-March 2020 from 7.9 per cent in October-December 2019
What is unemployment?
According to OECD, unemployment is persons above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period
What is labour force participation?
The labour force participation rate is a measure of the proportion of a country’s working-age population that engages actively in the labour market, either by working or looking for work; it provides an indication of the size of the supply of labour available to engage in the production of goods and services, relative to the population at working age. The breakdown of the labour force (formerly known as economically active population) by sex and age group gives a profile of the distribution of the labour force within a country.
Key findings of the survey
- According to quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), unemployment rate in urban areas rose to 9.1 per cent in January-March 2020 from 7.9 per cent in October-December 2019 but marginally lower than 9.3 per cent in January-March 2019,
- Urban unemployment was recorded at 8.4 per cent in July-September 2019, 8.9 per cent in April-June 2019 and 9.9 per cent in October-December 2018.
- The survey finds that urban unemployment in the age group 15-29 years was 21.1 per cent in January-March, up from 19.2 per cent in October-December.
- It also states that female unemployment rate was recorded in double digits at 10.5 per cent in January-March, up from 9.8 per cent in the previous quarter. For urban males, it was at 8.7 per cent in January-March as against 7.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
- As per the PLFS, labour force participation rate rose to over a five-quarter high of 37.5 per cent, as against 37.2 per cent in the previous quarter.
- Unemployment data for urban areas is released quarterly based on current weekly status.
- This dataset differs from the Annual Report of Periodic Labour Force Survey, which covers both rural and urban areas and gives estimates of employment and unemployment in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS.
