Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above increased for the fourth successive month to 55.4 per cent in October this year, hitting a six-month high. The LFPR in rural areas also increased to 57.8 per cent last month while in urban areas it dipped to 50.5 per cent. LFPR is an estimate of the number of people actively engaged in the workforce, in Current Weekly Status (CWS).
According to Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) monthly labour force and unemployment data, India’s Unemployment Rate (UR), remained unchanged at 5.2 per cent in October, for individuals aged 15 years and above. As per the data, a marginal decline in the rural unemployment rate, from 4.6 per cent in September to 4.4 per cent last month, coupled with a moderate rise in urban UR from 6.8 per cent to 7.0 per cent, resulted in overall stability in the unemployment rate. The overall unemployment rate for female declined marginally to 5.4 per cent while the male unemployment rate remained stable at 5.1 per cent.
The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for individuals aged 15 years and above continued to rise, standing at 52.5 per cent led by rise in the female workforce in rural areas.
