Urban unemployment rate at fresh low

Fell to 6.4% in Q2 on back of sharp decline in female joblessness

- ASIT RANJAN MISHRA

In a positive sign, the urban unemployment rate in the September quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) declined to a fresh low of 6.4 per cent since the data was started to be compiled in 2017, due to a sharper dip in female unemployment rate, according to the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for urban India released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday.

The joblessness rate in Q1FY25 had declined to 6.6 per cent from a four-quarter high of 6.7 per cent in Q4FY24.

The headline unemployment rate under the current weekly status (CWS) for women, where activity status is determined based on the reference period over the past seven days preceding the date of the survey, stood at 8.4 per cent during the quarter, down from the 9 per cent in the preceding quarter.