New Delhi, Oct 10 (KNN) The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation revealed on Monday that India's urban unemployment rate fell to 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2023-24 from 6.8 per cent in January-March.

At 6.6 per cent, the rate of unemployment in Indian cities is the lowest ever recorded by the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) since it was started in 2018-19.

The survey, published on a quarterly basis for urban data, measures the unemployment rate in terms of Current Weekly Status (CWS).

As per this definition, a person is considered employed if they worked for at least one hour on any day during the seven days preceding the day they are surveyed.

“Unemployment Rate for persons of age 15 years and above in CWS ranged from 7.8 per cent to 9.7 per cent during the pre-pandemic period. Unemployment Rate during April-June 2023 was 6.6 per cent which is lower than the unemployment rates observed in the quarters covered in the pre-pandemic period,” the statistics ministry said.

In April-June, India's urban unemployment rate fell even as the Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 48.8 per cent from 48.5 per cent the previous quarter.

While the male Labour Force Participation Rate was unchanged at 73.5 per cent in April-June which for females rose by 50 basis points to 23.2 per cent.  (KNN Bureau)