Unemployment rate declines to 6.5% in Q3FY24; female labour force participation rises to 25%: MoSPI

The urban unemployment rate declined to its lowest level in over four years of 6.5% in October-December 2023, while the female labour force participation rate rose to its highest level of 25%, according to quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey data released Monday.

Urban unemployment was 7.2% in October-December 2022 and 6.6% in the previous quarter.

Female labour force participation was up 2.7 percentage points from Q3FY23, and a percentage point higher than the previous quarter.


Better growth prospects are showing up in employment trends. Indian economy likely grew faster at 7.3% in FY24 from 7.2% in the previous year, according to first advance estimates released in January.

The unemployment rate in urban areas was lower than the previous month's level of 6.6%. However, the decline in unemployment was driven by the male unemployment rate, as female unemployment levels were steady from the previous quarter.

The female unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above was 8.6% in Q3FY24, unchanged from the previous quarter but lower compared with 9.6% in Q3FY24.

On the other hand, male unemployment declined to 5.8%, down 0.2 percentage points sequentially and 0.7 percentage points from the previous fiscal’s third quarter.

Formal employment numbers, estimated from enrollment to social sector schemes, show women performing better with their share rising, especially in low-paying formal jobs.

This was also evident from the share of women in regular salaried jobs as per PLFS data. After a quarter of decline, the share of women in regular salaried work, which tends to be more remunerative than other categories, rose to 53% from 52.8% in the previous month. However, it was still lower than 54.5% share in October-December 2022.

The share of women in the agriculture sector declined, and in the secondary and tertiary sectors improved in the third quarter of FY24, whereas men recorded a declining share in secondary sector employment.

Secondary sector employment includes manufacturing and construction jobs.

PLFS surveyed 44,544 households and 1,69,209 people for the October-December round.

Among the 22 states and UTs surveyed by PLFS, Himachal Pradesh had the highest unemployment rate, followed by Kerala, Jammu, and Kashmir, with double-digit unemployment in urban areas. These states also ranked higher in terms of female unemployment.