India’s urban unemployment rate fell to 6.8% during Jan-March, 2022-23

NEW DELHI: According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, India’s urban unemployment rate fell to 6.8 per cent during the January-March period of 2022-23 from 7.2 per cent in the corresponding period of last year. This is the lowest unemployment rate since 2018 after the country’s urban unemployment rate touched a peak of 20.8 per cent in the October-December financial year of 2021.

Among males aged above 15 years, the unemployment rate stood at 9.2 per cent in the March quarter as against 9.6 per cent in the December quarter. For females aged above 15 years, the unemployment rate stood at 6 per cent during the quarter under review, as against 6.5 per cent in the December quarter.

Rameswar Teli, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Government of India, had earlier told the Parliament that the country’s estimated unemployment rate on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above, was 6 per cent, 5.8 per cent, 4.8 per cent, and 4.2 per cent during 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, and has been showing a declining trend. “The estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) on usual status for persons of age 15 years & above was 50.9 per cent and 52.6 per cent during 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, which shows that employment in the country has increased,” Teli stated.

Since the introduction of the quarterly periodic labour force survey (PLFS) in 2018–19, the unemployment rate in Indian cities has never been lower than it is now. India’s urban unemployment rate decreased in the months of January to March, despite an increase in the labour force participation rate from 48.2 per cent to 48.5 per cent.