Unemployment rate inches up to 9.3 per cent in January-March quarter: NSO data

The urban unemployment rate has increased to 9.3% in the January-March 2021 period from 9.1% in the year-ago period, according to a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

While 9.3% is lower than the peak urban unemployment level of 20.8% recorded in the April-June quarter of last year, it is still higher than pre-Covid levels.

Key Highlights

• The figures also showed that unemployment among women is rising as 11.3% of women in the labour force found themselves without a job in the January-March 2021 quarter compared to 10.6% in the year-ago period. Unemployment among males remained at the same level as last year, at 8.6%.
• Labour force participation rate (percentage of persons in labour force in the population) in urban areas came down to 47.5% in the January-March quarter of 2021, compared to 48.1% in the same period a year ago.
• Women’s participation in the labour force at 21.2% in the January-March quarter was lower than 21.9% in the same quarter previous year though it was better than 20.6% in the October-December 2020 quarter.
• The working population ratio, defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population, stood at 43.1% in January-March 2021, down from 43.7% a year ago.
• According to the monthly unemployment data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), joblessness in the country stood at 7.13% as on November 29.

SOURCE: The Indian Express

Download as PDF