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.
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