Why in the News?
According to the Reserve Bank of India’s data, India’s employment rate grew by 6 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31,
2024, from a growth of 3.2 per cent in 2022-23.
About the RBI’s Latest Report:
- The RBI recently released data from its Measuring Productivity at the Industry Level – the India KLEMS Database.
- KLEMS stands for Capital (K), Labour (L), Energy (E), Material (M), and Services (S).
- The database is part of a research project supported by the Reserve Bank to analyse productivity performance in the Indian
economy at a disaggregated industry level. - It covers 27 industries comprising the entire Indian economy.
- Estimates are also provided at broad sectoral levels (agriculture, manufacturing, and services) and at the all-India levels.
Key Takeaways from the Latest Data:
- Total Employment: Stood at 643.3 million in FY24, up from 596.7 million in FY23.
- Unemployment Rate (UR): Decreased from 6.8% in January–March 2023 to 6.7% in January–March 2024 for persons aged 15
years and above. - Female Unemployment Rate: Declined from 9.2% to 8.5% for the same period.
- Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Increased from 48.5% to 50.2% in urban areas for the same period.
- Worker Population Ratio (WPR): Rose from 45.2% to 46.9% for persons aged 15 years and above for the same period.
Key Terms of the Report:
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):
- The labour force consists of persons aged 15 years or older who are either employed or unemployed but willing to work
and actively looking for a job. - LFPR refers to the demand for jobs by this population.
Employment Rate:
The percentage of employed persons in relation to the comparable total population.
Unemployment Rate:
The percentage of adults in the labour force who do not have jobs.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS):
- Launched by the National Statistics Organisation (NSO) in April 2017 to get a better sense of the job situation and provide
reliable and timely data. - It measures employment and unemployment dynamics in urban areas at three-month intervals (Current Weekly Status)
and both rural and urban areas on key parameters (usual status and Current Weekly Status). - These insights from the RBI’s latest report indicate a significant increase in India’s employment rate, reflecting improvements in
labour market dynamics and economic conditions