New formal job creations in India decreased by 14.5 per cent to 6.01 million in the first four months of the financial year 2023-24, data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) showed. In the same period a year ago, 7.03 million formal jobs were created.

EPFO data showed an addition of 1.31 million formal jobs in April, 1.26 million in May, 1.57 million in June, and 1.87 million in July in the current financial year. In contrast, the net job addition in April 2022 was 1.31 million, and 1.68 million each in the following three months.

The decline in formal jobs indicates that many people might be deprived of social security benefits, given that the NSSO survey showed a drop in the unemployment rate.

NSSO Survey

According to the Economic Times, which cited data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the country’s unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and above in urban areas dropped from 7.6 per cent a year ago to 6.6 per cent during the April-June period of 2023 as the Covid-related effects reduced.

The NSSO’s 19th Periodic Labour Force Survey also shows that the jobless rate for individuals aged 15 and above in urban areas during the first quarter of 2023 was lower at 6.8 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.

Female unemployment rate aged 15 and above in urban areas also declined from 9.5 per cent in the same period a year ago to 9.1 per cent in April-June 2023. The unemployment rate is calculated based on the unemployed individuals within the labour force.

Likewise, the male unemployment rate in the urban areas decreased from 7.1 per cent in April-June 2022 to 5.9 per cent in the same period this year.

On the other hand, the labour force participation rate for individuals aged 15 and above in urban areas rose to 48.8 per cent in April-June 2023 from 47.5 per cent a year ago.

The NSSO’s quarterly bulletin, based on the PLFS survey introduced in April 2017, provides estimates of labour force indicators, including the unemployment rate, worker population ratio (WPR), labour force participation rate (LFPR), and the distribution of workers by employment status and industry of work in current weekly status (CWS).

The latest bulletin, covering April-June 2023, released this month, is the 19th in the series.