Female Labour Force Rises In India As Survey Shows Unemployment Rate Holding Steady

Unemployment rate in India remained steady, while female labour force participation registered a sharp rise in urban and rural areas, as per latest government of India statistics. To be sure, a part of the rise was led by the rise in share of self employed females.

Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.2% in 2023-24 for urban and rural areas, according to the periodic labour force survey published for July 2023 to June 2024.

According to the findings of the survey, published on Tuesday, urban unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in 2023-24, compared to 5.4% the previous year, while rural unemployment saw an uptick to 2.5% in 2023-24, compared to 2.4% last year.

For males and females across rural and urban areas, unemployment rate was at 3.2%.

Female Labour Force Participation Rises

The rise in labour force participation was led by females, from 37% in 2022-23 to 41.7% in 2023-24. For males in India, labour force participation increased to 78.8% in 2023-24, from 78.5% in 2022-23.

In rural areas, labour force participation rates increased to 63.7% in 2023-24 from 60.8% the previous year, while for urban areas it increased to 52% from 50.4% in the same duration.

Self Employment Picks Up

The share of self employed persons rose from 57.3% in 2022-23 to 58.4% in 2023-24. The rise was across rural and urban areas, led by a rise in share of helpers in household enterprises.

In case of females, they saw a rise in the share of own account workers and employers, while males saw a rise in share as helpers in household enterprises.

On an aggregate, the share of regular wage or salaried employees rose, accompanied with a fall in the share of casual labour.

Agriculture Continues To Rise 

The agriculture sector continued to see a modest uptick in share in workers classified by broad industry division, while construction saw a modest decline.

• The share of workers employed by the agriculture sector rose by 46.1% in 2023-24, compared to 45.8% a year ago.

• While manufacturing continued to see a steady share of workers at 11.4%, construction saw fewer workers at 12% in 2023-24, compared to 11% an year ago.