Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report: July 2022-June 2023

The ‘labour force’ is the share of the population “which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities” and thus includes both employed and unemployed people. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) measures the share of labour force within a population. In 2022-23, the LFPR was 42.4 per cent (as per usual status) and 40 per cent (as per current weekly status).

As per usual status, the LFPR in rural areas was 30.5 per cent among women and 55.5 per cent among men. In urban areas, the figures were 20.2 per cent for women and 58.3 per cent for men.

The worker population ratio (WPR) is termed as the “percentage of workers in the population”. The WPR in 2022-23 for persons of all ages (as per usual status) was 41.1 per cent – 54.4 per cent among men and 27 per cent among women.

The WPR among those aged 15-29 years was 40.1 per cent – 57.3 per cent among males and 21.9 per cent among females. In this age group, the WPR was found to be higher among people in rural India (42.3 per cent) than in urban India (34.3 per cent).

The report also records the WPR (in usual status) among people aged 15 years and above categorised by the ‘highest level of education successfully completed’. In 2022-23, the WPR among those considered ‘not literate’ was 56.6 per cent. It was 47.8 per cent among those who had completed secondary education and 69.5 per cent among people who had a diploma or other certification. The WPR among graduates was 55.8 per cent.

The PLFS also outlines the percentage of workers across three categories: self-employed, regular wage/salaried employee and casual labour. During the period of July 2022-June 2023, 57.3 per cent of the people surveyed were self-employed. Around 20.9 per cent earned regular wages or salaries and 21.8 per cent were casual labourers.

In rural areas, more than half of the workers surveyed were self employed (58.8 per cent males and 71 per cent females) compared to those earning regular salaries and wages (14.3 per cent males and eight per cent females). In urban areas, more people were salaried (47.1 per cent males and 50.8 per cent females) than self-employed (39.4 per cent males and 40.4 per cent females).

Among employees who earned regular salaries or wages, 58.6 per cent had no written job contracts. As many as 46.8 per cent of such employees were not eligible for paid leave and 53.9 per cent were ineligible for any social security benefits.

Distribution of workers according to broad industries they worked in found the highest numbers engaged in “agriculture” – 45.8 per cent. Around 12.2 per cent were engaged in “trade, hotel & restaurant”, 13 per cent in “construction” and 11.4 per cent in “manufacturing”.

The report records quarter-wise average earnings for self employed, salaried and casual workers. In the last quarter (April to June 2023), salaried employees in rural areas earned Rs. 16,482 per month on average (17,274 for men and 13,825 for women). The figures in urban areas were Rs. 23,011 (24,243 for men and 19,308 for women).

In the same April to June 2023 quarter, daily earnings for people engaged in casual labour (other than public works) in rural areas were Rs. 388 on average – Rs. 416 for men and Rs. 287 for women. In urban areas, the daily average earnings were Rs. 493 – Rs. 515 for men and Rs. 333 for women.

The unemployment rate (UR) is the “percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force.” The country-level UR (as per usual status) among persons of all ages was 3.2 per cent. It was 2.4 per cent in rural areas (2.8 per cent among males and 1.8 per cent among females) and 5.4 per cent in urban areas (4.7 per cent among males and 7.5 per cent among females).

The UR (as per usual status) among those aged 15-29 years was considerably higher – 10 per cent (9.7 per cent among males and 10.6 per cent among females). It was also higher in urban areas (15.7 per cent) than in rural areas (eight per cent).

Focus and Factoids by Swadesha Sharma.