Govt to release monthly unemployment data from May 15 for first time

The first set of data will include the figures from January, February and March and thereafter it will be released every month

The government will release the unemployment data every month starting from May 15, 2025, a senior government official said on Monday. 

 

The first set of data will include the figures from January, February and March 2025 and thereafter it will be released every month. 

 

“For the first three months, we will be releasing the data on May 15. This is the first time that we are doing it,” the official from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said. Until now, the government shared urban unemployment data every three months, and combined rural and urban unemployment data once a year.

 

 

However, India doesn't have a system of high frequency data collection and disclosure on unemployment like other major economies.

 

An official said the data being collected is reliable and represents the population well, with regular checks to make sure it’s accurate. The government plans to release private capital expenditure data by the end of April, as promised.

 

Survey of service sector businesses

 

Starting next year, it will also share results from a survey of service sector businesses.

 

Work is underway to provide quarterly data on the informal sector, based on the annual survey of unregistered businesses.

 

The government has also decided to start sharing labour force data for rural areas every quarter.

 

The official added that data is now as valuable as oil, and it’s important for it to be accurate and timely. Indian data is seen as trustworthy, strong, and transparent around the world, they said.

 

According to the government’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the overall unemployment rate for people aged 15 and above was 4.9 per cent in 2024, down from 5.0 per cent the previous year. 

 

India’s unemployment rate in 2024

 

In urban areas, the unemployment rate from October to December 2024 was 6.4 per cent, while in rural areas, it was lower at 4.2 per cent. The government says these numbers show a positive trend and that Indian data is reliable and carefully checked.

 

A private group called the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) also tracks unemployment and provides more frequent updates. Their data showed that India’s unemployment rate in December 2024 was 8.65 per cent, with rural unemployment at 7.97 per cent and urban unemployment higher at 10.08 per cent. CMIE’s numbers are usually different from the government’s because they use a different method to collect data.

 

[With inputs from PTI]