Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2023 Released

• NSSO has recently brought out the sixth Annual Report on the basis of Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted during July 2022-June 2023.
• The report highlighted the pandemic as the major trigger caused widespread financial distress, touching off a surge in unemployment and leading to mass migration back to villages.

What the Data Sayas?

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), (by NSSO) : The unemployment rate has shown a decrease between April and June 2023.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Persons of age 15 years and above and the Worker-Population Ratio (WPR) have also improved during the period.
• This indicates an improvement in the labour market.
• However, the survey also documents a decline in the share of regular wage/salaried employment and a rise in self-employment.

Major outcomes of the Survey:

• The labour force participation rate (15 years and above): Increased from 49.8% in 2017-18 to 57.9% in 2022-23.
• While participation rates have increased in both rural and urban areas, the rise is to a much greater extent in the former.
• Female participation rate in rural areas has risen from 24.6 % in 2017-18 to 41.5 % in 2022-23 — an increase of roughly 17 percentage points over this period.
• Alongside this increase in labour force participation rates, the share of the self-employed has risen from 55.6 % in 2020-21 to 57.3 % in 2022-23,
• While the share of regular wage/salaried employed has fallen from 21.1 % to 20.9 %.
• The percentage of workers engaged in informal sector enterprises in the non-agricultural sector has also gone up from 71.4 % in 2020-21 to 74.3 % in 2022-23.

Conclusion:

• While unemployment rates have declined across board, and among the youth (15-29 years),
• The falling share of regular wage/salaried and rise in self-employment reinforces concerns that the economy is unable to generate sufficient productive and remunerative forms of employment to absorb the millions entering the labour force each year.
• Inadequate job creation was, and still remains, the biggest challenge confronting policymakers.