Unemployment rate in rural areas falls to 2.4%, urban down to 5.4%: Survey

The unemployment rate in both rural and urban areas in India has registered a significant decline, according to the sixth annual report released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on Tuesday based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted during July 2022-June 2023.

The report shows that in rural areas, the unemployment rate decreased from 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 2.4 per cent in 2022-23 while for urban areas it declined from 7.7 per cent to 5.4 per cent.

Gender-wise the unemployment rate has come down for both the male and female population in the country indicating that women are also getting more jobs as the economy grows.

The unemployment rate for the male population in India decreased from 6.1 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.3 per cent in 2022-23 while the corresponding decrease in unemployment for the female population was from 5.6 per cent to 2.9 per cent, according to the survey.

The declining unemployment trend is also backed by data on the percentage of work force participation in the total population which has shown a significant increase in both the rural and urban areas.

According to an official statement, the field work for collection of information in respect of the samples, allotted for the period July 2022–June 2023, was completed timely for the first visit as well as revisit samples, except for 51 first visit and 68 revisits for Manipur, allotted in the last quarter i.e., April-June 2023, which were treated as casualties, due to disturbed field situation and unavailability of internet services.