Unemployment rate in urban areas at 8.4% in July-Sept 2019

Urban unemployment in the age group 15-29 years was 20.6 per cent in July-September 2019, lower than 21.6 per cent in the previous quarter and 23.1 per cent in the same period previous year.

Unemployment rate in urban areas moderated to 8.4 per cent in July-September 2019 from 8.9 per cent in April-June 2019 and 9.7 per cent in July-September 2018, the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed.

Urban unemployment in the age group 15-29 years was 20.6 per cent in July-September 2019, lower than 21.6 per cent in the previous quarter and 23.1 per cent in the same period previous year.

Female unemployment rate eased to 9.7 per cent in July-September, lower than 11.3 per cent in April-June 2019 and 12.7 per cent in July-September 2018, while unemployment rate for males stood at 8.0 per cent in July-September, as against 8.7 per cent in the previous quarter and 8.9 per cent in July-September 2018.

Labour force participation rate rose to 36.8 per cent from 36.2 per cent in the previous quarter and 36.1 per cent in the same period in the previous year, the data showed.

State-wise breakup showed that urban unemployment rate was higher than the national average in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Unemployment data for urban areas is released quarterly. This dataset differs from the Annual Report of Periodic Labour Force Survey, which covers both rural and urban areas and gives estimates of employment and unemployment in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS.

The sample size for this survey was lower covering 1.76 lakh people and 44,471 households in July-September 2019 compared with 1.79 lakh people and 45,288 households in April-June 2019.