India added 17 crore jobs since 2017-18: Youth unemployment falls; female participation tops 40%
NEW DELHI: India’s workforce has seen a significant jump over the past six years, with the number of employed people rising from 47.5 crore in 2017-18 to 64.33 crore in 2023-24, Union minister of state for labour and employment Shobha Karandlaje informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday, citing data from the Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS database.In a written reply, the minister also highlighted a steady rise in women’s participation in the workforce. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for women aged 15 and above increased from 28.7% in 2019-20 to 40.3% in 2023-24, based on data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).The announcement came a day after the labour ministry rebutted a media report questioning the credibility of India’s unemployment figures. The ministry defended the PLFS, calling it “globally recognized” and aligned with international standards such as those set by the International Labour Organization (ILO).It also noted that PLFS transitioned to generating monthly estimates from January 2025, enabling more frequent and timely updates on labour market trends. The methodology, the ministry said, uses large-scale stratified random sampling across both urban and rural areas.Key labour indicators have shown an improving trend:
- Labour force participation rate rose from 49.8% (2017–18) to 60.1% (2023–24)
- Worker population ratio increased from 46.8% to 58.2%
- Unemployment rate dropped from 6% to 3.2%
- Youth unemployment rate fell from 17.8% to 10.2% – below the global average of 13.3%
“These improvements signal higher engagement of the working-age population in productive employment,” the ministry said, rejecting claims of rising joblessness, especially among India’s youth.
