Abstract
The paper analyse and discuss changes in labour force and employment in the recent period using data from periodic labour force surveys of the National Statistical Office (NSO), GOI, for the period 2017–18 to 2021–22. It examines the veracity of assertions such as: (i) decline in worker-to-population ratio in recent years, (ii) increase in unemployment, (iii) withdrawal of women from workforce, and (iv) deterioration in the overall employment scenario in the country, among others. Labour force participation rate (LFPR) and worker-to-population rates (WPR) show significant increase, while unemployment dropped from 6 to 4% between 2017–18 and 2021–22. The period also witnessed sizable increase in female employment as their WPR increased by 50.0%, from 16.5% in 2017–18 to 24.0% in 2021–22. This has led to higher share of women in country’s workforce and diluted dominance of male in all occupation categories.
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Acknowledgements
The paper is updated version of NITI Aayog Discussion Paper “Workforce Changes and Employment: Some Findings from PLFS Data Series” by Ramesh Chand and Jaspal Singh, NITI Aayog, 2022. Assistance provided by Jaspal Singh in updating PLFS data tables to 2021–22 is gratefully acknowledged.
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The paper is developed from Abhijit Sen Memorial lecture delivered by the author during ISLE Conference at Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, 1st March 2023.
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Chand, R. Changes in Labour Force and Employment: Evidence from PLFS Data. Ind. J. Labour Econ. 66, 645–660 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-023-00457-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-023-00457-2