Unemployment rate dips in first quarter of 2022: Survey

What is the News?

The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the quarterly bulletin of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for January-March, 2022.

What are the key findings of the PLFS Survey?

Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas dipped to 8.2% in January-March 2022 from 9.3% in the same quarter in 2021.

Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas dipped to 7.7% in January-March 2022 compared to 8.6% a year ago. Among females, the unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 10.1% in January-March, 2022 from 11.8% a year ago. 

The opening up of workplaces after the lockdowns seems to have an impact on the unemployment rate.

Labour Force Participation Rate(LFPR)

LFPR in Current Weekly Status(CWS) in urban areas declined to 47.3% in the January-March quarter of 2022. It was 47.5% during January-March 2021 and 47.3% during October-December 2021. 

The Labour force is defined as the part of the population which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services and therefore, includes both employed and unemployed persons.

Worker Population Ratio

The worker population ratio in CWS in urban areas was 43.4% in January-March 2022. This shows an increase from 43.1% in January-March 2021 and 43.2% in October-December 2021.

Source: The post is based on the article “Unemployment rate dips in first quarter of 2022: Survey” published in The Hindu on 17th June 2022.