The employment & unemployment status of India

The employment & unemployment status of India

Subject: Economy

Context:  A quick look at the recently released Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reveals a decline in the unemployment rate from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.8 per cent in 2019-20.

Concept:

The fall in the unemployment rate from the 45 year high of 6.1 per cent as reported in the first PLFS (2017-18) is indeed a respite.

Causes of lower unemployment rate

• The lower unemployment rate (based on usual status approach) appears to be a consequence of economic distress and lack of gainful employment opportunities which have pushed jobseekers into low productivity and low paying work, thereby intensifying the challenge of under-employment.

Under-employment

• Underemployment is a measure of employment and labor utilization in the economy that looks at how well the labor force is being used in terms of skills, experience, and availability to work.
• It refers to a situation in which individuals are forced to work in low-paying or low-skill jobs.
• Visible underemployment and invisible underemployment are types of underemployment.
• Underemployment can be caused by a variety of factors, from economic recessions to business cycles.