Slight dip in unemployment rate in urban areas: survey

Job seekers at a job mela in Hyderabad. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The unemployment rate in the urban areas of the country was 6.4% for the period of October to December 2024 for persons of age 15 years and above, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in New Delhi on Tuesday (February 18, 2025). For male, the the unemployment rate was 5.8% during the period, while for female it was 8.1%.

Last year, during the same quarter, unemployment rate for ages above 15 was 6.5%, while in the last quarter of July to September, 2024, the rate was 6.4%. The female unemployment rate last year was 8.6%.

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Among the States, Himachal Pradesh had the highest unemployment rate with 10.4% and Gujarat had the lowest with 3.0%. Female unemployment rate too was the highest in Himachal Pradesh with 24% and lowest was in Delhi at 1.3%. PLFS defines unemployment rate as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force in current weekly status (CWS) – the number of persons either employed or unemployed on an average in a week.

Unemployment rate in urban areas for persons of age 15 years and above. Source: Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), the percentage of population in the labour force, was 39.6% for people of all ages. It was 39.2% in the similar quarter last year. The LFPR for women has increased by 0.1 percentage point to 20% than last year’s 19.9%. However, the LFPR decreased from last quarter’s figure of 20.3%. The lowest LFPR for all people and for women are the lowest in Bihar with 30.7% and 9.9% respectively. The PLFS was done among 1,70,487 people in 45,074 households.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in urban areas among persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 46.6% during October to December, 2023, to 47.2% in October to December, 2024. WPR for male of age 15 years and above for urban areas increased from 69.8% in October to December, 2023, to 70.9% during October to December, 2024.

The workers are classified into three broad categories according to their status in employment such as self-employed, regular wage/salaried employee and casual labour. Within the category of self-employed, two sub-categories have been made as own account worker and employer combined together and unpaid helper in household enterprises. In these categories, 39.9% were self-employed, 49.4% were regular employees and 10.7% were casual labourers. 5.5% workers were in agriculture sector, 31.8% workers were in secondary sector, including mining, and 62.7% workers were in tertiary sector that includes service sectors.