Unemployment at 5.8% for FY19, troubling but still lower than 45-year high in FY18

Representative image (PTI)

Unemployment in India stood at 5.8 percent in FY19, down from a four-decade high of 6.1 percent in FY18, data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed. The data was from the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the NSO and released on June 4.

Along age-lines, unemployment among those in the 15-29 age bracket fell from 17.8 percent to 17.3 percent.

Gender-wise, for females, the unemployment slipped to 5.2 percent in FY19 from 5.7 percent in FY18. For males, it went from 6.2 percent to 6 percent.

Demography-wise, unemployment in villages fell to 5 percent from 5.3 percent, while in cities it marginally increased from 7.7 percent to 7.8 percent.

For the same period, labour force participation rate (LFPR) for working age population (15 years and above) rose slightly to 50.2 percent in FY19 from 49.8 percent in FY18.

Gender-wise, female LFPR was better at 24.5 percent compared to 23.3 percent the previous year, while for males it fell to 75.5 percent from 75.8 percent. Demography-wise LFPR remained stable in cities and marginally improved in rural areas.

Notably, the Centre had withheld the unemployment data for FY18 last year, till completion of the election period. Once released, the numbers reflected a dismal picture – with unemployment at a 45-year high.

The numbers for FY18 indicate that employment was impacted by demonetisation and implementation of Goods & Services Tax (GST), Mahesh Vyas, MD & CEO, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy told Business Standard, adding: “Ideally, FY19 should have shown an improvement but it has not changed significantly.”