Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS):
The National Statistical Office (NSO) released the quarterly bulletin of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for October-December 2020.
- This dataset differs from the Annual Report of Periodic Labour Force Survey, which covers both rural and urban areas. Unemployment data for urban areas is released quarterly.
- NSO is the central statistical agency of the Government mandated under the Statistical Services Act 1980 under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Highlights of Quarterly Bulletin:
- The Unemployment rate for ages 15 and above in urban areas rose to 10.3% in October-December 2020 as compared to 7.9% in the corresponding months a year ago.
- The labour force participation rate for ages 15 and above in urban areas was 47.3% in October-December quarter of 2020, down from 47.8% in the same period a year ago.
- The Worker Population Ratio for ages 15 and above in urban areas was 42.4% in October-December quarter of 2020, down from 44.1% in the same period a year ago.
About Periodic Labour Force Survey:
- Considering the importance of availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, National Statistical Office (NSO) launched Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
- The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold: To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS). To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual Status and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
