The PLFS data revealed that during April-June 2024, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) in current weekly status (CWS) declined to 39.3 per cent from 39.5 per cent during January-March 2024. For female it declined from 20.3 to 20 per cent during this period while it remained at 58 per cent for male. It means the decline was registered almost all for women workforce.

However, for the workers of 15 years and above the decline was from 50.2 per cent to 50.1 per cent. Women workers of this age group suffered much. Decline in their LFPR was from 25.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent, while there was increase in male LFPR from 74.4 per cent to 74.7 per cent.

As for the workforce in the age group of 15-29 the was a minor increase in LFPR from 40.7 per cent to 40.8 per cent, female LFPR remained stagnant at 21.3 per cent, and for male workforce it increased from 58.2 per cent to 58.9 per cent.

All these show that the policies adopted in the Union Budget 2024-25 is not working for women workforce whose participation has declined in the urban areas of the country.

As for worker population ratio (WPR) in CWS the first quarter of the current fiscal is concerned it declined form 36.9 per cent to 36.7 per cent in the urban areas. Women suffered more even in this respect whose WPR was 18.6 per cent during Januay-March 2024 but declined to 18.2 in April-June 2024. WPR for male increased from 54.5 per cent to 54.7 per cent during this period. Women WPR declined in all age groups while it increased for male in all age group of workers though only a little.

There was an increase in casual labour from 10.8 per cent to 11 per cent. Regular wage and salaried employed in the urban India were just 49 per cent during April-June 2024, which was 48 per cent in the previous quarter. There was a decline in own account worker and employer, helper in household enterprise and self-employed. Self-employed declined from 40.5 per cent to 40 per cent, helpers in household enterprises declined fore 6.4 to 6.1 per cent and own account worker declined from 33 per cent to 32.9 per cent.

There was though an increase in women regular wage and salaried employees from 52.3 per cent to 54 per cent, their percentage declined in all other categories of workers, barring the own account workers which remained constant at 27.5 per cent. Women were about four times more than male as help in household enterprises. In the first quarter about 4.4 per cent male were helper in household enterprises, but the percentage of women was 11.4 per cent in the urban India.

Maximum percentage of workers were in the tertiary sector of the economy which account for 62.4 per cent as against 62.2 per cent in the previous quarter. In the first quarter only 5.9 per cent of urban workers were engaged in agriculture, while 32.1 per cent were engaged in secondary sector including mining and quarrying.

Unemployment rate was 6.6 per cent in the urban India during April-June 2024, which was still above 6.5 per cent during October-December 2023. Female unemployment rate increased to 8.9 per cent from the previous quarter’s 8.4 per cent. Unemployment rate in all age group of women increased during this period. For the women in age group 15-29, unemployment rate was 23 per cent, in the first quarter, while it was 14.8 per cent for male. Combined together total urban unemployment rate was 16.8 per cent.

Unemployment rate among urban population above 15 years of age was 6.6 per cent in the first quarter, for male it was 5.8 per cent and for female it was 9 per cent.

All these data indicates that government will need to exert more if the promises made in the Budget 2024-25 are to be fulfilled for creation of 3 crore new jobs. Union government has started talking with the state governments and UTs if they are ready to implement the labour reforms to create additional jobs, which may be a strategy to put blame on the states in respect of failure in job creation. (IPA Service)