Content:
- Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Key Employment Unemployment Indicators for 2024
- Evidence-Based Rural Development Gets a Push with Rollout of First-Ever Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) Baseline Report for FY 2022-23
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Key Employment Unemployment Indicators for 2024
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2024, released by the Ministry of Statistics, provides annual and quarterly estimates of key employment indicators across rural and urban India. It tracks Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR) using both Usual Status (PS+SS) and Current Weekly Status (CWS) frameworks.
Relevance : GS 3(Indian Economy)
Introduction to PLFS
- Initiated: April 2017 by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
- Objective:
- Provide quarterly labour force indicators (LFPR, WPR, UR) in urban areas via Current Weekly Status (CWS).
- Provide annual indicators in both Usual Status (ps+ss) and CWS for both rural and urban areas.
- Frequency: Annual reports; seven released so far.
- Latest data: From July 2023 – June 2024 and calendar year Jan–Dec 2024.
- Sample Size (2024):
- FSUs surveyed: 12,749 (rural: 6,982; urban: 5,767).
- Households surveyed: 1,01,957.
- Persons surveyed: 4,15,549.
Conceptual Definitions
- Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): % of working + seeking work individuals in population.
- Worker Population Ratio (WPR): % of employed persons in total population.
- Unemployment Rate (UR): % of unemployed persons in labour force.
- Usual Status (ps+ss): Activity status based on last 365 days.
- Current Weekly Status (CWS): Activity status based on last 7 days.
Current Weekly Status (CWS)
a) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)
- Urban (Total): ↑ from 50.3% to 51.0%
- Male: ↑ from 74.3% to 75.6%
- Female: ↑ slightly from 25.5% to 25.8%
- Rural (Total): ↓ from 58.8% to 58.6%
- Slight dip due to decline in rural female LFPR (↓ from 39.6% to 38.6%)
- Rural female decline likely due to fall in unpaid household helpers (↓ from 19.9% to 18.1%)
- All India Total: Static at 56.2%
b) Worker Population Ratio (WPR)
- Urban (Total): ↑ from 47.0% to 47.6%
- Male: ↑ from 69.9% to 71.0%
- Female: ↑ from 23.2% to 23.7%
- Rural (Total): ↓ from 56.2% to 56.1% (marginal)
- All India: ↑ slightly from 53.4% to 53.5%
c) Unemployment Rate (UR)
- Urban (Total): Stable at 6.7%
- Male: ↑ from 6.0% to 6.1%
- Female: ↓ significantly from 8.9% to 8.2%
- Rural (Total): ↓ from 4.3% to 4.2%
- All India: ↓ from 5.0% to 4.9%
Usual Status (ps+ss)
a) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)
- Urban (Total): ↑ from 51.4% to 52.2%
- Rural (Total): ↓ from 63.4% to 62.9% (again, mainly due to rural female LFPR drop)
- All India: ↓ marginally from 59.8% to 59.6%
b) Worker Population Ratio (WPR)
- Urban (Total): ↑ from 48.8% to 49.6%
- Rural (Total): ↓ from 61.9% to 61.4%
- All India: ↓ slightly from 58.0% to 57.7%
c) Unemployment Rate (UR)
- Urban (Total): ↓ from 5.2% to 5.0%
- Rural (Total): ↑ from 2.4% to 2.5%
- All India: ↑ from 3.1% to 3.2% (still low)
Gender-wise Highlights
- Urban Female Employment:
- CWS UR dropped sharply (8.9% to 8.2%) → positive trend.
- WPR increased modestly → shows improvement in job access.
- Rural Female Employment:
- LFPR & WPR declined under both CWS and ps+ss.
- Drop linked to fewer unpaid women helpers in family enterprises.
- Urban Male Employment:
- LFPR and WPR both improved under both methodologies.
- Rural Male Employment:
- Relatively stable across both LFPR and WPR indicators.
Key Inferences
- Urban Labour Market shows modest but consistent improvement, especially in female employment.
- Rural Labour Market is stagnant or slightly declining, particularly among women, suggesting structural employment challenges.
- Overall UR remains low and stable, reflecting positive labour absorption, though quality of employment remains unmeasured.
- Decline in unpaid family work for women → may indicate a shift towards more productive or formal work or withdrawal from workforce due to lack of options.
- Slight improvements in CWS indicators suggest better short-term employment opportunities, but long-term (ps+ss) indicators reflect stagnation.
Evidence-Based Rural Development Gets a Push with Rollout of First-Ever Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) Baseline Report for FY 2022-23
Concept and Objectives of PAI
- First-of-its-kind initiative launched by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for assessing grassroots development.
- PAI is aligned with the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) to adapt global targets to rural Indian realities.
- Designed to enable Panchayats to self-assess, plan evidence-based development strategies, and bridge existing governance and service delivery gaps.
- Helps in setting baselines, tracking progress, and fostering healthy competition among Panchayats.
Relevance : GS 2 (Governance, Constitution, Polity)
Structure and Methodology
- PAI is a composite index derived from:
- 435 local indicators (331 mandatory, 104 optional)
- 566 unique data points across 9 LSDG-aligned themes:
- Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods
- Healthy Panchayat
- Child-Friendly Panchayat
- Water-Sufficient Panchayat
- Clean and Green Panchayat
- Panchayat with Self-Sufficient Infrastructure
- Socially Just and Socially Secured Panchayat
- Panchayat with Good Governance
- Women-Friendly Panchayat
- Indicators are mapped with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of MoSPI, ensuring national and global alignment.
Grading Criteria for Panchayats
Panchayats are categorized based on scores:
- Achiever: 90 and above ( None so far)
- Front Runner: 75 to <90
- Performer: 60 to <75
- Aspirant: 40 to <60
- Beginner: Below 40
Key Statistics (PAI 2022–23 Baseline Report)
- Total Panchayats considered: 2,55,699
- Validated data from: 2,16,285 Panchayats
- Distribution:
- Front Runners: 699 (0.3%)
- Performers: 77,298 (35.8%)
- Aspirants: 1,32,392 (61.2%)
- Beginners: 5,896 (2.7%)
- Achievers: 0 (0%)
Top Performing States
- Gujarat:
- Highest number of Front Runner GPs (346)
- Most total Performer GPs (13,781)
- Telangana:
- 2nd in Front Runners (270)
- High total of Performer GPs (10,099)
- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh also have large numbers of Performer Panchayats.
- Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh: Majority GPs fall under Aspirant category → indicating developmental gaps and need for targeted interventions.
Key Significance and Impact
- Evidence-based planning: Data enables tailored Panchayat Development Plans (PDPs) focusing on context-specific needs.
- Facilitates resource prioritization and gap identification at the grassroots.
- Transparency and accountability: PAI fosters trust and data-driven governance.
- Decentralized SDG monitoring: Bridges local actions with national SDG reporting.
Technological Infrastructure
- PAI Portal (www.pai.gov.in):
- Multilingual, real-time data entry and validation platform.
- Ensures data accuracy through State/UT validation.
- 2.16 lakh Panchayats’ data already validated and uploaded.
- Data from 11,712 GPs (from 5 States/UTs) excluded due to pending validation.
Policy Implications
- Promotes bottom-up governance and strengthens the role of Gram Sabhas in participatory planning.
- Enables MPs, MLAs, and policy-makers to assess ground-level development and formulate localized strategies.
- Empowers Panchayats as drivers of socio-economic transformation, critical for SDG 2030 success.
Challenges & Way Forward
- No Panchayat qualified as Achiever: Indicates the long road ahead for deep-rooted transformation.
- Data disparities: Non-validation in certain States shows need for capacity-building and IT enablement.
- Need for dynamic updates: Real-time monitoring and annual comparison can foster continuous improvement.
- Must integrate fiscal incentives, capacity-building and training based on PAI results.
