Urban labour force participation rate rises marginally, rural unemployment sees slight dip from 2023 to 2024

NEW DELHI: The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in urban areas saw a marginal increase, while rural unemployment slightly decreased between 2023 and 2024, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Wednesday.

The data revealed that LFPR in urban areas saw a marginal increase, with male participation rising from 74.3 per cent in 2023 to 75.6 per cent in 2024.

Female participation also saw a slight uptick from 25.5 per cent to 25.8 per cent. As a result, the overall LFPR in urban areas increased from 50.3 per cent to 51.0 per cent. However, the national LFPR remained largely unchanged at 59.6 per cent, down slightly from 59.8 per cent in 2023, the data revealed.

Worker Population Ratio (WPR) also showed improvements in urban areas, increasing from 47.0 per cent to 47.6 per cent. At the national level, however, WPR remained stable, with only a slight decrease from 58.0 per cent to 57.7 per cent, indicating a small dip in employment despite stable participation rates.

On the other hand, the data reveals that the unemployment rate saw minor fluctuations across different areas. Rural unemployment slightly decreased from 4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent, with reductions for both males and females.

In urban areas, male unemployment rose slightly from 6.0 per cent to 6.1 per cent, while female unemployment dropped from 8.9 per cent to 8.2 per cent. The overall urban unemployment rate remained stable at 6.7 per cent.

At the national level, the unemployment rate improved slightly from 5.0 per cent to 4.9 per cent, which suggests minor progress in employment opportunities in the country, the data suggests.

The data shows a decline in unpaid helpers in household enterprises, especially among rural females, contributed to a decrease in LFPR in rural areas, where the percentage of helpers in Household Enterprises fell from 19.9 per cent to 18.1 per cent. (ANI)