PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (PLFS) QUARTERLY BULLETIN – JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2023

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Quarterly Bulletin for July – September 2023.

PLFS AND OBJECTIVES:

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) was initiated in April 2017 with the aim of providing frequent and timely labour force data.
• The survey serves two primary purposes:
  • estimating key employment and unemployment indicators every three months for urban areas and
  • conducting an annual assessment in both rural and urban areas.
• The recent PLFS report for July – September 2023 was the twentieth quarterly bulletin in the series.
• The fieldwork for this period was completed timely, except for a few samples in Manipur and Telangana, which were considered casualties.
• Notably, the revisit schedules were primarily conducted via telephone (about 96.2% of the time) since June 2020.

SAMPLE DESIGN AND SIZE:

• The PLFS employs a rotational panel sampling design in urban areas where selected households are visited four times, ensuring continuity in data collection.
• For the quarter July – September 2023, 5,706 first-stage sampling units (FSUs) were surveyed, comprising 44,738 urban households and 1,70,004 individuals.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF KEY INDICATORS:

• The PLFS provides estimates for significant employment and unemployment indicators:
  • Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR).
• These indicators are based on the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS), evaluating activity status in the preceding seven days before the survey.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):
  • LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e., working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR):
  • WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
• Unemployment Rate (UR):
  • UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
• Current Weekly Status (CWS):
  • The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE QUARTERLY BULLETIN – JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2023:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) Increase:
  • LFPR in urban areas for individuals aged 15 years and above rose from 47.9% in July – September 2022 to 49.3% in the same period of 2023.
  • Notably, LFPR increased for both males and females during this period.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) Growth:
  • WPR in urban areas for individuals aged 15 years and above increased from 44.5% in July – September 2022 to 46.0% in the same period of 2023.
  • Similar to LFPR, WPR exhibited growth for both males and females.
• Unemployment Rate (UR) Decline:
  • UR in urban areas for individuals aged 15 years and above decreased from 7.2% in July – September 2022 to 6.6% in the same period of 2023.
  • While male UR was at 6.0% in 2023, female UR declined from 9.4% to 8.6% during this period.

CONCLUSION AND ACCESS TO DETAILED DATA:

• The PLFS Quarterly Bulletin – July to September 2023 highlights positive trends in LFPR, WPR, and a decline in UR in urban areas for individuals aged 15 years and above. (can refer to ministry website for the data in tabular form).
• These indicators provide crucial insights into the labour market dynamics, aiding in policy formulation and interventions for economic growth and employment generation.

SOURCE: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1980887#:~:text=UR%20in%20urban%20areas%20decreased,%25%20in%20July%20%E2%80%93%20September%202023