Urban labour market shows improvement as unemployment declines in September quarter

Urban unemployment rate, a critical indicator of joblessness, edged down to 6.4% during July-September from the year-ago period, according to government data

Updated18 Nov 2024, 05:17 PM IST

India's urban labour market showed improvement in the September quarter. (Image: Pixabay) — India’s urban labour market showed improvement in the September quarter. (Image: Pixabay)

India's urban labour market demonstrated steady gains in July-September, with rising workforce participation and a slight dip in unemployment, according to recent data.

Urban unemployment rate, a key indicator of joblessness, fell to 6.4% in July-September, down from 6.6% a year prior, as per data from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.

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For males, the unemployment rate declined from 6.0% to 5.7%, while for females, it dropped from 8.6% to 8.4%.

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in urban areas—the proportion of those aged 15 and above actively engaged in or seeking work—rose to 50.4% during the July-September 2024 period, up from 49.3% a year earlier. Male LFPR saw an increase from 73.8% to 75.0%, indicating a positive trend, while female LFPR rose modestly to 25.5% from 24%.

Similarly, the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), representing the employed share of the 15-and-over population, showed an improvement. The urban WPR climbed to 47.2%, up from 46.0% the previous year. Among males, WPR rose from 69.4% to 70.7%, while for females, it rose from 21.9% to 23.4%.

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These figures underscore a gradual recovery in the urban labour market, driven by economic revival and policy measures.

Nationally, however, unemployment rates edged up slightly, with the overall rate (urban and rural combined) for those aged 15 and above inching to 3.2% in July 2023–June 2024, from 3.1% a year ago.

Looking separately at gender trends, male unemployment declined marginally from 3.3% to 3.2%, whereas female unemployment rose from 2.9% to 3.2%.

Also read | Generating jobs in India’s highly segmented labour market will be a long haul

Unemployment rate refers to the percentage of the labour force currently without work.

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First Published:18 Nov 2024, 05:17 PM IST

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