Urban unemployment reached a record low of 6.8% in January-March

According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on May 29, India's urban unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.8 percent in the January-March quarter, compared to 7.2 percent in the previous quarter. This marks the lowest unemployment rate since the government began its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2018-19. The survey measures unemployment based on the Current Weekly Status, where individuals are considered employed if they worked for at least one hour during the seven days preceding the survey.

During the same period, the Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 48.5 percent, up from 48.2 percent in the previous quarter. Both men and women contributed to this increase, with men's participation rate rising by 20 basis points to 73.5 percent and women's participation rate increasing by 40 basis points to 22.7 percent.

While the unemployment rate for men declined by 50 basis points to 6.0 percent, the rate for women decreased to 9.2 percent from 9.6 percent in the previous quarter.

The latest employment data indicates positive developments in India's job market. The proportion of salaried employees increased to 48.9 percent, up from 48.6 percent, while the percentage of people engaged in casual labor decreased by 10 basis points to 11.7 percent. Self-employment also saw a decline of 10 basis points to 39.5 percent. However, the proportion of workers categorized as 'helper in household enterprise' increased to 6.1 percent from 5.9 percent in the October-December period.

Overall, these figures provide encouraging signs for policymakers, indicating improvements in India's employment scenario.