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The latest data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) shows a significant decline in urban unemployment, with the rate dropping to 6.6 per cent in April-June 2023, down from 7.6 per cent a year ago. This improvement is being attributed to the return of post-Covid economic normalcy.
For males in urban areas, the unemployment rate decreased to 5.9 per cent from 7.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. For females, it declined to 9.1 per cent from 9.5 per cent. The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) also increased to 48.8 per cent in April-June 2023 from 47.5 per cent in the same quarter last fiscal.
These findings are based on the 19th quarterly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which surveyed 44,190 households and 1,67,916 persons in urban areas during the April-June 2023 quarter.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for urban areas rose to 45.5 per cent in April-June 2023. These positive trends indicate a promising outlook for urban employment in the post-pandemic era. Joblessness or unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force.
In January-March this year, the overall UR in Urban areas was 6.8 per cent. It was 7.2 per cent in both the July-September 2022 and October-December 2022 quarters.
The Covid related restrictions had weighed in on the UR for April-June 2022 coming in at a high of 7.6 per cent. As the post-Covid normalcy in the economy returned, one can see the UR rates seeing a declining trend in subsequent quarters, said experts.
Decrease in unemployment rate
In the first quarter of this fiscal, the unemployment rate (UR) for male persons in urban areas decreased to 5.9 per cent from 7.1 per cent in the year-ago period.
UR for male was 6 per cent in January-March 2023, 6.5 per cent in October-December 2022 and 6.6 per cent in July-September 2022.
For females, the UR decreased to 9.1 per cent in April-June 2023 from 9.5 per cent, showed the 19th quarterly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the April-June 2023 period. The NSSO had launched PLFS in April 2017.
The UR for females in urban areas was 9.2 per cent in January-March 2023, 9.6 per cent in October-December 2022 and 9.4 per cent in July-September 2022.
On the basis of PLFS, a quarterly bulletin is brought out by NSSO giving estimates of labour force indicators namely unemployment rate, Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), distribution of workers by broad status in employment and industry of work in CWS.
So far eighteen quarterly bulletins of PLFS corresponding to the quarter ending December 2018 to the quarter ending March 2023 have already been released.
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