Economics
In News: The annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2020 to June 2021 was released by NSO
Findings
- The unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent in 2020-21, the lowest since the first PLFS showed an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18.
- According to the report, the labour force participation rate (LFPR), or those working or seeking or available for work in the labour force, was the highest in four years at 39.3 per cent in 2020-21, as was the worker population ratio (WPR) at 36.3 per cent.
- The unemployment rate was higher for males in rural areas than females.
- In rural areas, the unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent in 2020-21, while that for females was 2.1 per cent.
- In urban areas, the unemployment rate for females was 8.6 per cent, while that for males was 6.1 per cent.
- While the overall employment situation showed improvement, the rise was seen in low-quality, unpaid work.
- Employment in the unpaid self-employed category continued to show an increase in 2020-21 by rising to 17.3 per cent from 15.9 per cent in 2019-20.
- Rural unpaid employment also showed increase to 21.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 20.0 per cent in the previous year, while that for urban areas increased to 6.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
- The data shows that the share of the labour force engaged in agriculture continued to show a rise in 2020-21, increasing to 46.5 per cent from 45.6 per cent in 2019-20 and 42.5 per cent in 2018-19 — a reversal of the decades-long decline in the labour force participation in agriculture.
- The increase in share of agricultural employment was seen more for urban areas than rural areas.
- In urban areas, male employment in agriculture increased to 5.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 5.0 per cent in 2019-20, while that for females increased to 10.4 per cent in 2020-21 from 8.2 per cent.
- In rural areas, both males and females recorded a slight moderation in agricultural employment to 53.8 per cent and 75.4 per cent, respectively, from 55.4 per cent and 75.7 per cent in the previous year.
Source: Indian Express
