The unemployment scenario in urban areas of the country has shown improvement, declining from 7.2% in July-September 2022 to 6.6% in the same period of 2023, as reported by the National Sample Survey Office's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and released by the Union Labour Ministry on Wednesday.
The survey focused on individuals aged 15 years and above.
For this demographic, the overall unemployment rate was recorded at 6.6%, with a slight variation between genders. While the rate for males was 6%, females experienced a decline from 9.4% to 8.6% over the same period. This trend remained consistent from the previous quarter of the same year, where the overall rate was 6.6%.
The worker population ratio, representing the percentage of employed individuals in the population, exhibited positive growth in urban areas. It rose from 44.5% in July-September 2022 to 46% in the corresponding period of 2023. For males, the ratio increased from 68.6% to 69.4%, and for females, it saw a notable growth from 19.7% to 21.9%.
Addressing concerns about gender disparities in the labour force, the report highlighted an uptick in the female labour force participation rate (LFPR). The LFPR in urban areas for individuals aged 15 years and above increased from 47.9% in July-September 2022 to 49.3% in the same period of 2023. Among males, the LFPR saw a marginal increase from 73.4% to 73.8%, while for females, it exhibited a more substantial rise from 21.7% to 24.0%.
The government, which has faced criticism for gender imbalances in labour force participation, can find encouragement in the positive trends observed in the latest survey.
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