India’s unemployment rate in July-June 2023-24 remained unchanged at 3.2 per cent after experiencing a decline for five consecutive years, the latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report released by the National Sample Survey Office showed.
The stagnation despite an increasing labour force in both urban and rural areas indicates that the economy was not able to generate a commensurate number of jobs during the year.
Female unemployment rate in India
As per the report, the unemployment rate for women in 2023-24 rose to 3.2 per cent from 2.9 per cent in 2022-23.
Male unemployment rate in India
The jobless rate for males witnessed a slight decline to 3.2 per cent in 2023-24 from 3.3 per cent during 2022-23.
Unemployment in rural & urban areas
As per the data, the unemployment rate in rural areas increased slightly to 2.5 per cent in 2023-24 from 2.4 per cent in 2022-23.
The unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 5.1 per cent in 2023-24 from 5.4 per cent during 2022-23.
The annual survey was launched in April 2017 and for the first time since, the unemployment rate for a one-year period under “usual status” for people aged 15 years witnessed stagnation.
The survey also highlighted a significant increase in the labour force participation rate, or LFPR, to 60.1 per cent in 2023-24 from 57.9 per cent in 2022-23 at the national level.
LFPR represents the share of people either working or seeking work in the population.
The rural LFPR stood at 63.7 per cent, significantly up from 60.8 per cent in 2022-23, while urban increased to 52 per cent from the 50.4 per cent over the same period.
In terms of overall employment quality, the percentage of individuals in regular or wage employment rose to 21.7 per cent in 2023-24, up from 20.9 per cent in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, the number of people involved in self-employment, which includes unpaid household work or operating a small business, increased to 58.4 per cent from 57.3 per cent during the same period.
Over the recent years, unemployment has emerged as a major issue and the rate surged during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government in the Union Budget 2024-25 announced a series of measures to create jobs, including incentives for internships.
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