Looking beyond the unemployment rate

Regardless of the approach we use, there is no denying the fact that unemployment rates in India are high

The much-awaited results of India’s first Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) have finally been released. The most widely cited statistic from this report is the unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent. This rate is based on the usual status approach which relates to the activity status of a person during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey. Significantly, the unemployment rate based on the current weekly status (CWS), determined on the basis of the activity status for a person during a reference period of seven days preceding the date of survey, is higher at 8.9 per