India’s unemployment rate eases to 5.2% in September quarter, women’s employment rises

NEW DELHI: India’s unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in the July–September quarter from 5.4% in the previous three months, driven by increased rural employment during the farming season and pick up in female participation, government data showed on Monday.

The unemployment rate among those 15 years and above eased in rural areas to 4.4% in the July-September period from 4.8% in the previous quarter, while urban unemployment ticked up to 6.9% from 6.8%, the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), released by the Ministry of Statistics, showed.

The survey covered 564,000 people across India and estimated 562 million employed persons during the quarter.

The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR) rose marginally to 55.1% from 55.0% in the previous quarter. The female participation rate increased to 33.7% from 33.4%, continuing an upward trend in women’s engagement in the workforce.

However, unemployment rate among women in urban areas rose to 9% from 8.9% and among men it was at 6.2% from 6.1% in the previous quarter, data showed.

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The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) - the share of employed persons in the total population - also rose slightly to 52.2% from 52.0%, supported by higher female participation, especially in rural areas.

The share of self-employed workers in rural areas increased to 62.8% from 60.7%, reflecting seasonal farm activity, while regular wage and salaried employment in urban areas improved modestly to 49.8% from 49.4%.

The survey also showed that 57.7% of the rural workforce was engaged in agriculture during the quarter, compared with 53.5% earlier, while the share of urban workers in the tertiary sector rose to 62.0%.