The Periodic Labor Force Survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office recently released data for July-September 2023, which shows India’s unemployment rate in urban areas.
Key Features of Recent PLFS
- Urban unemployment rate: Unemployment rate in urban areas declined from 7.2% (July-September 2022) to 6.6% (July-September 2023).
- Men: This rate has declined from 6.6% to 6% over this time period.
- Women: A more positive trend was seen in their rate, which decreased from 9.4% to 8.6% over the given time period.
- Worker-Population Ratio: Worker-Population Ratio in urban areas The percentage of employed persons in the population for persons aged 15 years and above increased from 44.5% in July-September, 2022 to 46% in July-September, 2023.
- Men: This rate increased from 68.6% to 69.4% during this time period.
- Women: Their rate increased from 19.7% to 21.9% during this time period.
Periodic labor force survey
- Recognizing the importance of availability of labor force data at more regular time intervals, NSSO launched the Periodic Labor Force Survey in April 2017.
- The PLFS defines the unemployment rate as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labor force.
Purpose of PLFS
- To estimate key employment and unemployment indicators (e.g. worker population ratio, labor force participation rate, unemployment rate) over a short time interval of three months for urban areas only in ‘Current Weekly Situation’ (CWS).
- To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘normal situation’ and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.