Unemployment rate in urban areas eased to 8.4 per cent in July-September 2019 from 8.9 per cent in April-June 2019 and 9.7 per cent in July-September 2018, according to the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
According to the data, urban unemployment in the age group 15-29 years was 20.6 per cent in July-September 2019, lower than 21.6 per cent in the previous quarter and 23.1 per cent in the same period the previous year.
Female unemployment rate eased to 9.7 per cent in the July-September quarter in 2019, lower than 11.3 per cent in the April-June quarter the same year. The female unemployment rate was 12.7 per cent in July-September 2018. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for males stood at 8.0 per cent in July-September, as against 8.7 per cent in the previous quarter and 8.9 per cent in July-September 2018.
The overall labour force participation rate rose to 36.8 per cent from 36.2 per cent in the previous quarter and 36.1 per cent in the same period in the previous year, the data showed.
Among states, the urban unemployment rate was higher than the national average in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Unemployment data for urban areas is released quarterly. This dataset differs from the Annual Report of Periodic Labour Force Survey, which covers both rural and urban areas and gives estimates of employment and unemployment in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS.