Unemployment rate declines marginally to 4.9% in 2024: Govt survey

New Delhi: Unemployment rate among persons of 15 years or above slipped to 4.9 per cent in calendar year 2024 from 5 per cent in the previous year, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released on Wednesday.

In rural areas, there is a marginal decline in overall unemployment (4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent), with slight reductions for both men and women, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a release.

Urban male unemployment rose (6.0 per cent to 6.1 per cent), but female unemployment declined (8.9 per cent to 8.2 per cent), keeping the overall urban rate stable at 6.7 per cent.

At all-India level, unemployment saw a minor drop (5.0 per cent to 4.9 per cent), suggesting slight improvements in employment opportunities, it stated.

It also stated that decline in unpaid helpers in household enterprises seems to have contributed to the drop in WPR (workers population ratio) as well as LFPR (labour force participation ratio) among rural females, as the percentage of 'helpers in Household Enterprises' decreased from 19.9 per cent to 18.1 per cent from 2023 to 2024.

Slight improvements were seen across all categories, particularly in the overall WPR (47.0 per cent to 47.6 per cent) in Urban areas, it stated adding that at all-India level, overall WPR remained relatively unchanged (53.4 per cent to 53.5 per cent).

In urban areas, the LFPR increased for males (74.3 per cent in 2023 to 75.6 per cent in 2024) and slightly for females (25.5 per cent to 25.8 per cent), leading to an overall rise in LFPR (50.3 per cent to 51.0 per cent).

Overall LFPR remained constant at 56.2 per cent, despite minor variations across categories, it stated.

LFPR refers to the percentage of population that is either employed or seeking employment.

Under Principal and Subsidiary Status(PS+SS), the labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India remained largely stable between 2023 and 2024, though there were some variations across rural and urban areas.

Under the PS+SS approach, if a person has engaged in any economic activity for a period of 30 days or more during the preceding 365 days a person is considered as employed.

At the national level, the overall LFPR remained nearly unchanged, with a marginal decline from 59.8 per cent to 59.6 per cent.

The worker population ratio (WPR) followed a similar pattern. At the all-India level, WPR recorded a marginal decline, moving from 58.0 per cent to 57.7 per cent, indicating a slight drop in employment despite stable participation rates.

Unemployment rates (UR) showed mixed trends across different sectors.

At the all-India level, unemployment recorded a minor increase from 3.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent, though the levels remain relatively low, it stated.