Rate of unemployment unchanged at 3.2% in year ending June 2024: Govt data

NEW DELHI: The unemployment rate in the country for those in the 15 years and above category remained unchanged at 3.2% in 2023-24, while joblessness rate for women inched up to 3.2% from 2.9% in the previous year, official data showed on Monday.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) annual report for July 2023 to June 2024 released by National Sample Survey Office also showed that the labour force participation rate (LFPR) for both females and males rose to a seven-year high during 2023-24. The LFPR is defined as percentage of persons working or seeking or available for work in the population.

The PLFS annual report, which covers both rural and urban areas, showed LFPR for women rose to 41.7% in 2023-24, up from 37% in previous year.

Rate of joblessness down from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.5% in 2023-25 in rural areas

For males, the LFPR rose to 78.8% from 78.5% in 2022-23. Overall, the rate rose to 60.1% in 2023-24 from 57.9% in the previous year. Youth unemployment rate for those in the 15-29 years age group rose to 10.2% in 2023-24 from 10% in 2022-23. For females, it rose from 10.6% in 2022-23 to 11% in 2023-24 while for males it inched up to 9.8% in 2023-24 from 9.7% in 2022-23, the Periodic Labour Force (PLFS) data showed.

Unemployment has emerged as a major issue in recent years and the rate soared during the Covid -19 pandemic prompting calls for measures to create jobs. Govt in its 2024-25 budget announced a series of measures to create jobs, including incentives for internships.

The PLFS data showed that the joblessness rate for males in the 15 years and above category dipped marginally to 3.2% in 2023-24 from 3.3% in 2022-24. The rate has declined from 6.1% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24. In rural areas, the joblessness rate rose from 1.8% in 2022-23 to 2.1% in 2023-24 while for males it remained unchanged at 2.7%. For all persons, the rate in rural areas inched up a tad to 2.5% in 2023-24 from 2.4% in the previous year.

In rural areas, the joblessness rate has decreased from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.5% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it decreased from 7.7% to 5.1%, the data showed.

The workers population ratio (WPR) for those in the 15 years and above category rose to 58.2% from 56%. For males it inched up to 76.3 in 2023-24 from 76% in the previous year while for females it rose to 40.3% from 35.9% in 2022-23, according to the data. The WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.

The PLFS was launched in 2017 to estimate employment and unemployment indicators. The quarterly report covers urban areas while the annual report is for both urban and rural areas. This is the seventh annual report released by the NSSO. The PLFS was designed to provide timely jobs data covering all aspects of employment and unemployment.

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