Unemployment rate declines to 6.8% in Q4FY23 from 8.2% a year ago, says government survey

The latest data by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has highlighted that the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas has declined to 6.8 per cent in the final quarter of FY2023 from 8.2 per cent a year ago. 

The joblessness in the country saw a reduction on the back of better-than-expected economic activity in the fourth quarter, besides strong growth figures in the services sector.  

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Urban unemployment was nearly half from 12.6 per cent witnessed during April-June 2021 when the Delta wave of Covid hit the country, the report noted. 

The unemployment rate in July-September 2022 and October-December 2022 was 7.2 per cent only. It was 7.6 per cent in April-June 2022. The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in April-June 2022 was 7.6 per cent in urban areas, the 18th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed. 

The worker-to-population ratio (WPR), which is the percentage of employed persons in the population, also witnessed an increase of 0.5 percentage points sequentially to 45.2 per cent in Q4. The female WPR stood at 20.6 per cent; the male WPR was 69.1 per cent. 

Labour participation rate 

The latest quarterly survey highlighted that the labour force participation rate (LFPR) saw a marginal increase in Q4FY23 to 48.5 per cent, from 48.2 per cent in Q3FY23. The participation rate is the percentage of people either working or seeking work in the population.  

The report said that women showed greater enthusiasm for work as their LFPR witnessed greater increase than that of men in the March quarter.  

The female participation rate registered an increase of 0.4 percentage points and stood at 22.7 per cent, from 22.3 per cent in Q3, in contrast, the LFPR for males stood at 73.5 per cent against 73.3 per cent in the previous quarter. 

The report said that a large number of women found work in the self-employed category (38.5 per cent in Q4FY23 against 37.9 per cent in Q3FY23), which includes unpaid helpers in household enterprises.  

Meanwhile, the share of men in regular salaried jobs increased to 47.3 per cent, from 46.9 per cent during the period under review. 

Other parameters 

The new formal job creation figures for the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which were released last week, also highlighted that a total number of new subscribers that joined the fund (EPF) in FY23 stood at 11,498,453, which is the highest number of new subscribers joining the social security organisation in a year since FY19. 

The latest data suggested that a total of 1.22 crore members were added to the EPFO on a net basis in 2021-22. Out of 13.40 lakh members added during the month of March, around 7.58 lakh new members have come under the ambit of EPFO for the first time, the Labour ministry statement said. 

Among the newly joined members, the highest enrolment is registered in the age group of 18-21 years with 2.35 lakh members, followed by the age group of 22-25 years with 1.94 lakh members. 

The age-groups of 18-25 years constitute 56.60 per cent of total new members added during the month. This age-wise comparison of payroll data indicates that the majority of the members joining the organised sector workforce of the country are first-time job seekers. 

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