The National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, on Thursday released a press note on Employment Outlook of the country covering the period September, 2017 to September, 2022.
This data is based on the administrative records available with selected government agencies to assess the progress in certain dimensions, the release stated. Since April, 2018, the ministry has been bringing out the employment related statistics in the formal sector covering the period September 2017 onwards, using information on the number of subscribers who have subscribed under three major schemes, namely the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
The government said that over 38.5 lakhs new subscribers joined and contributed in the NPS central government, state governments, and other corporate schemes during September, 2017 to September, 2022.
Meawhile, India's unemployment rate declined to 7.2 per cent in July-September this year for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas compared to 9.8 per cent last year, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey released by the NSO on Thursday. The latest data underlines a decline in the unemployment rate amid an improved labour force participation ratio and points towards a sustained economic recovery from the pandemic. In July-September 2021, joblessness was high due to Covid-related restrictions in the country.
The numbers of subscribers are from various sources and there are elements of overlap. Therefore, the estimates from various sources are not additive. Detailed information is separately published on the respective organizational websites for the period September, 2017 to September, 2022.
For chart, see the PDF below.
The information is based on the number of subscribers, and the tables reflect a dynamic status for six sets of periods – (a) September 2017 – March 2018, (b) April 2018 – March 2019, (c) April 2019 – March 2020, (d) April 2020 – March 2021, (e) April 2021 – March 2022 and (f) monthly data from April 2022 onwards. The data in Section 2.1 includes information gender-wise, on the number of new members who have started subscribing to EPF, the number of members that have ceased their subscription and the number of members who restarted contribution, having ceased subscription in the past. The data in Section 2.2 includes information gender-wise, in respect of ESI, on the number of existing employees who paid contribution and the number of newly registered employees who are paying contribution during the period.
The data in Section 2.3 includes information gender-wise, in respect of NPS, on the existing subscribers and new subscribers contributing during the period.