India’s unemployment rate eases to 5.2% in Sept quarter

India’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 % in the July-September quarter, down from 5.4 % in the previous quarter. This improvement is primarily attributed to stronger rural employment, especially due to seasonal agricultural work, and a modest rise in female participation in the labour force.

In rural areas, unemployment fell to 4.4 % (from 4.8 %), while in urban areas it rose slightly to 6.9 % (from 6.8 %). The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR) in the 15 + age group edged up to 55.1 % from 55.0 %. Importantly, the female participation rate rose from 33.4 % to 33.7 %.

Looking at employment composition, the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), the proportion of employed persons in the total population, increased modestly to 52.2 % from 52.0 %. In rural areas, the share of self-employed workers rose to 62.8% (from 60.7%), reflecting the seasonal agricultural surge. Meanwhile, in urban areas, regular wage or salaried employment rose marginally to 49.8% from 49.4%. The share of rural workforce engaged in agriculture jumped to 57.7% from 53.5%; in urban areas the tertiary sector (services) employment increased to 62.0%.

Despite the overall positive turn, the urban unemployment rate among women rose to 9.0 % (from 8.9%) and for men it rose to 6.2 % (from 6.1%) in urban regions.

The data underscores the workforce’s sensitivity to seasonal and rural economic activity. The uptick in female participation is a welcome sign, but the persistently high urban female unemployment suggests structural constraints remain. Policymakers should focus on urban job creation, especially for women, and redesign schemes to shift from seasonal to more stable employment.

Source: Economic Times