Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022- Quarterly Bulletin

The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas dipped to 7.6% during April-June 2022 from 12.6% a year ago. It was 8.2% in January-March 2022.

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Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022- Relevance for UPSC Exam

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022: PLFS report consists of quarterly and annual labour employment-unemployment data about Indian Labour Market. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report provides key insights into the conditions of Indian Labour Market and is important for UPSC Mains GS Paper 3 of Indian Economy- Issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in News

Recently, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for the period of April-June, 2022.
NSO’s Quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report found that unemployment rate dips to 7.6% in April-June 2022.

15^th Quarterly Bulletin of PLFS 2022 (April-June) findings

Unemployment Rate in Urban Areas: The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas dipped to 7.6% during April-June 2022 from 12.6% a year ago.
- The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in January-March 2022 was 8.2% in urban areas.
Unemployment Rate among Male/Female (Urban): unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas declined to 9.5% in April-June, 2022 from 14.3% a year ago. It was 10.1% in January-March, 2022.
- Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas dipped to 7.1% in April-June 2022 compared to 12.2% a year ago. It was 7.7% in January-March 2022.
Labour force participation rate in CWS (Current Weekly Status) in urban areas: for persons aged 15 years and above, it increased to 47.5% in the April-June quarter of 2022, from 46.8% in the same period a year ago.
- It was 47.3% in January-March 2022.
Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in CWS in urban areas: for persons aged 15 years and above, it stood at 43.9% in April-June, 2022, up from 40.9% in the same period a year ago.
- It was 43.4% in January-March 2022.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

About: Considering the importance of availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, National Statistical Office (NSO) launched Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
Objectives: The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold:
- To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. WPR, LFPR, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS).
- To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘Usual Status’ (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
Annual Reports of PLFS: PLFS Annual Reports are released covering both rural and urban areas giving estimates of all important parameters of employment and unemployment in both usual status and current weekly status (CWS).
- On the basis of the data collected in PLFS, four Annual Reports of PLFS corresponding to the periods July 2017 – June 2018, July 2018 – June 2019, July 2019 – June 2020 and July 2020 – June 2021 have been released.
PLFS Quarterly Report: On the basis of PLFS, a quarterly bulletin is brought out giving estimates of-
- labour force indicators namely unemployment rate,
- Worker Population Ratio (WPR),
- Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR),
- Distribution of workers by broad status in employment and industry of work in CWS.

FAQs on Labour Force and Unemployment

What is Joblessness or unemployment rate?

Ans.: Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force.

What is the definition of Labour Force?

Ans. Labour force refers to the part of the population which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services and, therefore, includes both employed and unemployed persons.

What is the CWS (Current Weekly Status) approach of Unemployment?

Ans. Labour force, according to CWS, is the number of persons either employed or unemployed on an average in a week preceding the date of the survey.

In the CWS approach, a person is considered unemployed if he/she did not work even for one hour on any day during the week but sought or was available for work at least for one hour on any day during the period.