Unemployment rate slips to 7.2% in Sept quarter, shows NSO data

The unemployment rate in the country has dipped 7.2% in the July to September quarter this year, as against the 9.8% in the same period last year, according to the data released by National Statistical Office (NSO). Notably, the unemployment rate in April to June quarter this year stood at 7.6%, according to the data by the 16th periodic labour force survey (PLFS). The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.

Amongst females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas, the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4% in the July to September period this year, as against 11.6% in the year-ago period. The unemployment rate amongst females in urban areas stood at 7.6% in the April to June period this year. 

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate amongst males (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas witnessed a decline of 6.6% in July to September quarter as against 9.3% in the same period last year. The unemployment rate amongst males in urban areas stood at 7.1% in the April to June period this year. 

The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in the current weekly status (CWS) for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 47.9% in the July to September period, as against 46.9% in the same period last year. It stood at 47.5% in the April to June quarter this year. Of this, the LFPR amongst females stood at 21.7% and the LFPR amongst males stood at 73.4%.  LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population. Moreover, the CWS is determined on the basis of a reference period of the last 7 days preceding the date of the survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.

Meanwhile, the worker population ratio (WPR) in CWS for persons aged 15 years and above witnessed a surge at 44.5% from July to September this year, as against the July to September period last year. It stood at 43.9% in the April to June period this year. Of this, the worker population rate amongst females stood at 19.7%, whereas amongst males it stood at 68.6% in the July to September period this year. WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.

Based on PLFS, the ministry of statistics prepares a quarterly bulletin that gives estimates of “Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker population ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), distribution of workers by broad status in employment and industry of work in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) for urban areas.”

“The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold i.e. to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS), and to estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘Usual Status’ (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Notably, the NSO data is released days after a report by a private think tank Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed that India’s unemployment rate surged to 7.77% in October as compared to a four-year low of 6.43% in September, owing to a significant rise in the rural unemployment rate. Moreover, the labour participation rate (LPR) witnessed a decline of 39.3% in September to 39% in October.