Unemployment rate in urban areas dips to 6.5 per cent in Q3

The unemployment rate in urban areas decreased to 6.5 per cent in the third quarter (October–December 2023) for persons aged 15 years and above. It was 7.2 per cent in the same period last year. The unemployment rate for females also came down from 9.6 per cent last year to 8.6 per cent in Q3 this year, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said in a statement. 

The ministry further said that the labour force participation rate (LFPR) in urban areas has shown an increasing trend from 48.2 per cent in Q3 of 2022 to 49.9 per cent in Q3 of 2023. 

In the same period, the female labour force participation rate rose from 22.3 per cent to 25 per cent, reflecting the overall increasing trend in LFPR. 

As per the data, an increasing trend was noted in the worker-population ratio (WPR). The WPR in urban areas increased from 44.7 percent in October – December 2022 to 46.6 per cent in October – December 2023 for persons aged 15 years in above. For males, it increased from 68.6 per cent to 69.8 per cent during this period and for females, it increased from 20.2 per cent to 22.9 per cent.

During April-June 2023, the unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 6.6 per cent from 7.6 per cent a year ago. 

Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Joblessness was high in April-June 2022 mainly due to the staggering impact of Covid-related restrictions in the country.