The unemployment rate (UR) among persons aged 15-29 years rose to a four-month high of 14.8% in February, underscoring fewer job opportunities for the country’s youth, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday.
The unemployment rate among young women (15-29 years) in rural areas reached 14.6%, the highest so far in the current financial year. In the 15-29 age group, joblessness also hit a four-month high in rural areas, at 13.1% in February. In urban areas, it declined to 18.3% from 18.6% in January.
Overall, female unemployment in the 15-29 age group stood at 17.6% in February, while male unemployment inched up to 13.7% from 13.6% in January.
The unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above, as per the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, eased marginally to 4.9% in February after reaching a three-month high of 5% in January.
Rural v Urban unemployment rate
The unemployment rate among urban women (15 years and above) declined to a seven-month low of 8.7% in February. In this age group, the rural unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%. Urban unemployment fell notably to 6.6% in February from 7% in January. Overall female unemployment (15+) reduced to 5.1% from 5.6% a month earlier, while male unemployment remained steady at 4.8%.
Youth unemployment remains relatively high because job creation has not kept pace with the growing number of educated young entrants into the labour market, said Rahul Singh, Associate Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University.
He noted that the marginal decline in unemployment among those aged 15 years and above appears to be driven primarily by stronger hiring in urban services, some pickup in construction and informal sector activities, and rising female labour force participation.
What does the ministry’s estimates suggest?
According to the ministry, estimates under the CWS approach provide an average picture of unemployment over a short reference period of seven days. A person is considered unemployed in a week if they did not work even for an hour on any day during the reference week but sought or were available for work for at least one hour on any day during that week.
The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), defined as the percentage of the population in the labour force, remained stable at 55.9% in February. Rural LFPR stayed at 58.7% (unchanged from January), while urban LFPR edged up slightly to 50.4% from 50.3%. Female LFPR inched up to 35.3% from 35.1% in January.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which measures the share of employed people in the population, increased to 53.2% in February from 53.1% in January. In rural areas, male and female WPR stood at 75.4% and 38.4%, respectively (compared to 75.7% and 38% in January). Urban WPR rose to 47% from 46.8% in January.
The monthly estimates at the all-India level are based on information collected from approximately 3.74 lakh persons surveyed, including 2.13 lakh in rural areas and 1.61 lakh in urban areas.