NEW DELHI: The recent Quarterly Bulletin of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) published in February depicts a minor increase in urban male unemployment in the third quarter (October to December) of 2024 when compared to the data from the corresponding period of the previous year. This increase in unemployment, however, is compensated in the overall scenario by a commendable rise in the employment rate among women. This reduced rate of women’s unemployment has impacted the overall rate of unemployment.
The report also detailed state-wise disaggregation of the unemployment data based on current weekly status. Gujarat was the state with the lowest level of unemployment (3%) and former Jammu and Kashmir (UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh) recorded the highest rate of unemployment with 13.1%. This sample survey was conducted between October and December 2024 canvassing 5,742 blocks covering 45,074 households and 1,70,487 individuals across the country.
The PLFS, conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation every year, defines unemployment in Current Weekly Status (CWS), according to which a person is considered unemployed in a week if they did not work even for an hour on any day during the reference week but sought or was available for work for at least an hour during the period.