Unemployment rate drops to 6.6% in urban areas in Q1

Unemployment rate for youth for urban females in the age group 15-29 years went up to 23.4 per cent in April-June from 22.9 per cent in the previous quarter but fell from 23.9 per cent in the year-ago period. For urban males in the 15-29 years age group, the unemployment rate went up to 15.9 per cent in April-June from 15.6 per cent in the previous quarter, but was lower than 17.4 per cent in April-June 2022.

In the urban areas, states/UTs which recorded higher than national average unemployment rate included Himachal Pradesh (13.8 per cent), Rajasthan (11.7 per cent), Chhattisgarh (11.2 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (10.9 per cent) and Kerala (10 per cent). States/UTs which posted a lower-than-national average unemployment rate were Delhi (2.7 per cent), Gujarat (2.8 per cent), West Bengal (4.4 per cent), Bihar (6.1 per cent), Maharashtra and Haryana (6.5 per cent each).

The Ministry said that the key labour market indicators of Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and unemployment rates improved in urban areas in the April-June quarter for persons of age 15 years and above compared to the pre-pandemic period. “LFPR for persons of age 15 years and above in CWS ranged from 46.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent during the pre-pandemic period. LFPR during April-June 2023 was 48.8 per cent which is higher than the labour force participation rate observed in the quarters covered in the pre-pandemic period.”

“WPR for persons of age 15 years and above in CWS ranged from 41.8 per cent to 44.1 per cent during the pre-pandemic period. WPR during April-June 2023 was 45.5 per cent which is higher than the worker population ratio observed in the quarters covered in the pre-pandemic period. Unemployment Rate for persons of age 15 years and above in CWS ranged from 7.8 per cent to 9.7 per cent during the pre-pandemic period. Unemployment Rate during April-June 2023 was 6.6 per cent which is lower than the unemployment rates observed in the quarters covered in the pre-pandemic period,” it said.

Unemployment rate had shot up sharply during the lockdown imposed in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic. The unemployment rate for urban females and males in 15-29 years age group stood at 36 per cent and 34.3 per cent, respectively, in April-June 2020.

Unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force. The urban unemployment PLFS is based on current weekly status approach, under which a person is considered unemployed if he/she did not work even for one hour on any day during the week but sought or was available for work at least for one hour on any day during the period. Labour force according to CWS is the number of persons either employed or unemployed on an average in a week preceding the date of survey.