PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (PLFS) – ANNUAL REPORT [JULY, 2018 – JUNE, 2019]

Key Findings:

• India’s unemployment rate improved from the 45-year high of 6.1% in 2017-18 to 5.8% in 2018-19.
  
  
• Women’s unemployment fell from 5.7% to 5.2%, while male unemployment only fell from 6.2% to 6%.
  
  
• Urban unemployment was still at a high of 7.7% in 2018-19, a marginal drop from 7.8% in 2017-18, while rural unemployment fell from 5.3% to 5%.
  
  
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) also improved marginally, from 36.9% in 2017-18 to 37.5% in 2018-19.
  
  
• Unemployment rate, however, rose among Scheduled Castes to 6.4 % from 6.3 %, and for Scheduled Tribes to 4.5 % from 4.3 %. But unemployment rate among Other Backward Classes inched lower to 5.9 % from 6 %.
  
  
• In 2018-19, unemployment rate for youth in the 15-29 years age bracket was 17.3 %, as against 17.8 % a year ago. Unemployment rate among urban youth was higher than the all-India number at 20.2 % as against 20.6 % a year ago.