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India’s employment rate witnessed a significant surge, growing by 6% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.
This marks a notable increase from the 3.2% growth recorded in the previous fiscal year, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Substantial Increase in Employment Numbers
Employment in India increased by 4.67 crore, reaching a provisional total of 64.33 crore in the fiscal year 2023-24. This is a substantial rise from the 59.67 crore recorded in 2022-23, as revealed by the RBI’s Measuring Productivity at the Industry Level-The India KLEMS database.
Comparative Employment Data
In the fiscal year 2022-23, employment in the country stood at 57.75 crore, compared to 56.56 crore in 2021-22, according to RBI data.
Broad Industry Coverage
The India KLEMS database encompasses 27 industries representing the entire Indian economy. It provides estimates at broad sectoral levels, including agriculture, manufacturing, and services, as well as at the all-India level.
The database includes measures such as Gross Value Added (GVA), Gross Value of Output (GVO), Labour Employment (L), Labour Quality (LQ), Capital Stock (K), Capital Composition (KQ), the consumption of Energy (E), Material (M), and Services (S) inputs, Labour Productivity (LP), and Total Factor Productivity (TFP).
Urban Unemployment and Labour Force Participation
According to the latest quarterly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in May 2024, the unemployment rate (UR) in urban areas slightly decreased from 6.8% in January–March 2023 to 6.7% in January–March 2024 for individuals aged 15 and above.
Female Unemployment and Workforce Participation
The female unemployment rate declined from 9.2% in January–March 2023 to 8.5% in January–March 2024.
Additionally, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in urban areas has shown an upward trend, increasing from 48.5% in January–March 2023 to 50.2% during January–March 2024 for those aged 15 and above.
Worker Population Ratio Trends
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for individuals aged 15 and above rose from 45.2% in January–March 2023 to 46.9% in January–March 2024.
For females in urban areas, the WPR increased from 20.6% in January–March 2023 to 23.4% during January–March 2024, indicating an overall positive trend.
