Unemployment Rate In Urban Areas Declines To 6.6% In April-June 2023

The unemployment rate eased in the April–June quarter in India's urban areas, while the labour force participation rate picked up, according to the government's periodic labour force survey.

Decreasing Trend in Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate in urban areas decreased from 7.6% in April–June 2022 to 6.6% in April–June 2023 for persons aged 15 years and above, the survey showed.

For males, it decreased from 7.1% to 5.9% during this period, and for females, it decreased from 9.5% to 9.1% during this period.

For the full year from July 2022 to June 2023, in rural areas, the unemployment rate decreased to 2.4% from 3.2% a year ago. For urban areas, it decreased to 5.4% from 6.3% during the same period.

India's aggregate unemployment rate fell to 3.2%, the lowest since at least 2017-18.

Labour Force Participation Rate Sees Uptick

LFPR in urban areas increased from 47.5% in April–June 2022 to 48.8% in April–June 2023 for persons aged 15 years and older. While it hovered around 73.5% for males during this period, for females, it increased from 20.9% to 23.2% during this period.

LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force—working, seeking, or available for work—in the population.

For the full year from July 2022 to June 2023, in rural areas, LFPR increased to 56.7% from 53% an year ago, while for urban areas it increased to 49.4% from 48.6% an year ago.

LFPR for males was at 77.4% and for females at 31.6%.