Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Unemployment Rate In Urban India Declined to 12.6% in April-June: NSO Survey

The rate was highest in April-June 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to keep the coronavirus spread under control.
March 16, 2022
Employment_Unemployment in india

The unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 12.6 per cent in April-June 2021 from 20.8 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, found the labour force survey of the National Statistical Office. The survey findings were released on Monday.

The UR is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. The UR was highest in April-June 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the NSO’s 11th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the UR for persons aged 15 years and above was 9.3 per cent in urban areas in January-March 2021.

It says, the UR for women (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas also declined to 14.3 per cent in April-June 2021, from 21.1 per cent in the same period a year earlier. This figure was 11.8 percent in January-March 2021.

Similarly, the unemployment rate for males in urban areas also declined to 12.2 per cent, from 20.7 per cent in the same period a year ago. This figure was 8.6 percent in January-March 2021.

The unemployment rate for people of all ages rose to 12.7 per cent during April-June 2021, from 9.4 per cent in the January-March quarter. Even though the rate reached double digits during this period, it was lower than the rate recorded in the first phase of the pandemic.

In the first wave, the UR in India reached 20.8 percent. The rate for women reached 14.3 percent in April-June 2021, from 11.8 percent in the previous quarter. During this period, the UR among men also increased to 12.2 percent from 8.6 percent in the January-March quarter.