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Employment and unemployment: concepts, measurement and types

മലയാളത്തിൽ വിശദീകരണം

Poverty and unemployment · Part 2 / 2 · Fact-checked on 25 October 2026 · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

The labour force, LFPR, WPR and the unemployment rate; usual status (ps+ss), current weekly and current daily status; the Periodic Labour Force Survey from 2017 and its 2025 redesign with monthly and rural quarterly estimates; PLFS trends to 2023-24 including women's participation; open, disguised, seasonal, frictional, structural, cyclical and educated unemployment and underemployment; the unorganised sector and the e-Shram portal.

Each idea is explained first in Malayalam (മലയാളം), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Malayalam and revise it in English.

ഒന്നാം ഭാഗത്തിൽ എത്ര പേർ ദരിദ്രരാണെന്നു കണ്ടു. ഇനി ചോദ്യം: ജോലി വേണ്ടവരിൽ എത്ര പേർക്കു ജോലി കിട്ടുന്നു? ഈ ഭാഗം 'എങ്ങനെ എണ്ണുന്നു' എന്നതാണ് — ആരാണു ജോലിയിൽ, ആരാണു ജോലി തേടുന്നത്, ആരാണു തൊഴിൽ ശക്തിയിൽ തന്നെ ഇല്ലാത്തത്. പിന്നെ തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മയുടെ തരങ്ങൾ, ഒടുവിൽ മിക്കവരും പണിയെടുക്കുന്ന അനൗപചാരിക മേഖല. സർക്കാർ പദ്ധതികൾ മൂന്നാം ഭാഗത്തിൽ. (→ English: labour force · हिन्दी: श्रम बल)

In exam EnglishPart 1 asked how many Indians are poor; Parts 2 and 3 ask how many of those who want work can find it, and what the state does when they cannot. This part deals with measurement. It explains how surveys sort people into the employed, the unemployed and those outside the labour force, the three ways of fixing a person's activity status, and the Periodic Labour Force Survey that now supplies India's job numbers every month. It then sorts unemployment into its types, because each type has a different cause and needs a different remedy, and ends with the informal workforce, where most Indians earn their living. Part 3 turns to policy: the rural employment guarantee, the labour codes and the main employment schemes.

നമ്മുടെ ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ 100 മുതിർന്നവർ ഉണ്ടെന്നു കരുതുക: 55 പേർ ജോലി ചെയ്യുന്നു, 5 പേർ ജോലി തേടുന്നു, 40 പേർ പഠിക്കുന്നു അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വീട്ടിലിരിക്കുന്നു. ജോലി ചെയ്യുന്നവരും തേടുന്നവരും ചേർന്ന 60 ആണു തൊഴിൽ ശക്തി. തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ നിരക്ക് എന്നത് ആ 60-ൽ ജോലി കിട്ടാത്ത 5 പേരുടെ പങ്ക്, ഏകദേശം 8.3 ശതമാനം — മൊത്തം 100 കൊണ്ടു ഹരിക്കരുത്. മടുത്ത് അന്വേഷണം നിർത്തിയാൽ അവർ കണക്കിൽ നിന്നു പുറത്തുപോകും; നിരക്കു കുറഞ്ഞതായി തോന്നും, പക്ഷേ പുതിയ ജോലി വന്നിട്ടില്ല. (→ English: labour force · unemployment rate · हिन्दी: श्रम बल · बेरोज़गारी दर)

In exam EnglishSurveys divide people into three groups. Those who work are employed; those without work who are seeking or available for it are unemployed; together they make up the labour force. Everyone else, such as full-time students, people attending only to domestic duties and the retired, is outside it. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) is the labour force as a share of the population; the worker population ratio (WPR) is the employed as a share of the population; and the unemployment rate is the unemployed as a share of the labour force, not of the whole population. Suppose a village has 100 adults: 55 work, 5 are looking for work and 40 study or stay at home. Its LFPR is 60 per cent, its WPR 55 per cent and its unemployment rate 5 out of 60, about 8.3 per cent. A falling rate can hide trouble: if discouraged job-seekers stop looking, they leave the labour force and the rate drops though no new jobs appear.

സാധാരണ നില എന്നാൽ കഴിഞ്ഞ ഒരു വർഷം മുഴുവൻ (365 ദിവസം) നോക്കി 'ഈ ആൾ കൂടുതൽ കാലം എന്തു ചെയ്തു' എന്നു ചോദിക്കൽ — അതാണു പ്രധാന നില. ഉദാഹരണത്തിന് ഒരു പെൺകുട്ടി വർഷം മുഴുവൻ കോളേജിൽ പോയി, പക്ഷേ കൊയ്ത്തുകാലത്ത് ഒരു മാസത്തിലധികം പാടത്തു കൂലിപ്പണി ചെയ്തു. പ്രധാനമായി അവൾ വിദ്യാർഥിനി, എന്നാൽ 30 ദിവസത്തിലധികം ജോലി ചെയ്തതിനാൽ ഉപ നിലയിൽ തൊഴിലാളിയായും കണക്കാക്കും. രണ്ടും ചേർന്നാൽ ps+ss. വർഷം മുഴുവൻ നോക്കുന്നതിനാൽ ദീർഘകാല തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ പിടിക്കുന്നു. (→ English: usual status · हिन्दी: सामान्य स्थिति)

In exam EnglishWhether someone counts as employed depends on the period the survey asks about, and three are used. Under usual status the reference period is the 365 days before the survey. A person's principal status is the activity, working, seeking work or neither, that took the major part of that year. Many people, however, spend most of the year at home or in study yet do some paid or farm work for a few weeks. To count them, a person who did economic work for 30 days or more in the year is also treated as a worker in a subsidiary capacity. The combined measure, principal plus subsidiary status, is written ps+ss and is the one used for the headline annual figures. Because it looks across a whole year, it captures chronic, long-term joblessness rather than short breaks in work.

ആഴ്ച നിലയിൽ കഴിഞ്ഞ 7 ദിവസം മാത്രം നോക്കും: ഏതെങ്കിലും ഒരു ദിവസം കുറഞ്ഞത് ഒരു മണിക്കൂർ ജോലി ചെയ്താൽ 'ജോലിയിലുണ്ട്'. ദിവസ നിലയിൽ ആഴ്ചയിലെ ഓരോ ദിവസവും അര ദിവസ കണക്കിൽ നോക്കും — ആളുകളല്ല, 'ആൾ-ദിവസങ്ങൾ' ആണു കണക്ക്. നമ്മുടെ നാട്ടിലെ കർഷകത്തൊഴിലാളി രാഘവന് ആഴ്ചയിൽ 3 ദിവസം മാത്രം പണി കിട്ടി, ബാക്കി 4 ദിവസം പണി തേടി നടന്നു എന്നു കരുതുക: ആഴ്ച കണക്കിൽ അയാൾ ജോലിക്കാരൻ, ദിവസ കണക്കിൽ 4 ദിവസം തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ. അതുകൊണ്ടു ദിവസ നിരക്ക് കൂടുതൽ, സാധാരണ നില നിരക്ക് കുറവ്. (→ English: current weekly status · current daily status · हिन्दी: वर्तमान साप्ताहिक स्थिति · वर्तमान दैनिक स्थिति)

In exam EnglishCurrent weekly status (CWS) shortens the window to the seven days before the survey. A person who worked for at least one hour on any day of that week is counted as employed; one who did not work even for an hour but sought or was available for work is unemployed. CWS therefore catches shorter spells of joblessness that a yearly view smooths over. Current daily status (CDS) goes further and records activity for each day of the reference week, in half-day units, so its result is a count of person-days rather than persons. Suppose a farm worker finds work on only three days of a week and looks for work on the other four: by CWS he is employed, but by CDS those four days count as days of unemployment. That is why the usual status rate is generally the lowest of the three and the daily status rate the highest; the table compares them.

Three ways of fixing activity status
Measure	Reference period	Counted as employed if	What it captures
Usual status (ps+ss)	365 days	worked for the major part of the year (ps), or for 30 days or more (ss)	Long-term unemployment; usually the lowest rate
Current weekly status (CWS)	Last 7 days	worked at least 1 hour on any day of the week	Shorter spells of unemployment
Current daily status (CDS)	Each day of the last 7 days	recorded day by day in half-day units (person-days)	Days without work; usually the highest rate

മുമ്പ് തൊഴിൽ കണക്ക് അഞ്ചു വർഷത്തിലൊരിക്കൽ മാത്രമേ വന്നിരുന്നുള്ളൂ — അവസാനത്തേത് 2011-12. അഞ്ചു വർഷത്തിലൊരിക്കൽ മാത്രം പനി നോക്കുന്ന ഡോക്ടറെപ്പോലെ — ഇടയ്ക്കു നടന്നതൊന്നും അറിയില്ല. അതുകൊണ്ട് 2017 ഏപ്രിൽ മുതൽ PLFS തുടങ്ങി: വർഷത്തിലൊരിക്കൽ ഗ്രാമത്തിനും നഗരത്തിനും വലിയ റിപ്പോർട്ട്; നഗരങ്ങളിൽ അതേ വീടുകളോടു മൂന്നു മാസം കൂടുമ്പോൾ വീണ്ടും ചോദിച്ച് ത്രൈമാസ കണക്ക്. (→ English: Periodic Labour Force Survey · हिन्दी: आवधिक श्रम बल सर्वेक्षण)

In exam EnglishFor decades India's main source on jobs was the employment and unemployment survey of the National Sample Survey, held about once every five years in large rounds; the last of these covered 2011-12. Gaps of five years left policy without fresh numbers, so the National Statistics Office began the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017. It was built to give two kinds of results. Annual estimates, on both usual status and CWS, cover rural and urban India; the first report covered July 2017 to June 2018. Quarterly estimates, on CWS only, covered urban areas, where the same households were revisited each quarter so that change could be tracked. The PLFS thus moved job statistics from a snapshot taken twice a decade to a regular series, and its annual reports became the standard source for the ratios defined above.

2025 ജനുവരി മുതൽ PLFS വലുതായി — വർഷം ഏകദേശം 2.7 ലക്ഷം വീടുകൾ. ഇപ്പോൾ എല്ലാ മാസവും രാജ്യത്തിനു മുഴുവൻ ആഴ്ച കണക്ക്, മൂന്നു മാസം കൂടുമ്പോൾ ഗ്രാമങ്ങൾക്കും നഗരങ്ങൾക്കും കണക്ക്. 2017-18 മുതൽ 2023-24 വരെ ജോലിക്കു മുന്നോട്ടുവരുന്നവരുടെ ശതമാനം 49.8-ൽ നിന്ന് 60.1 ആയി, തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ നിരക്ക് 6.0-ൽ നിന്ന് 3.2 ആയി കുറഞ്ഞു. സ്ത്രീകളിലാണു വലിയ മാറ്റം — 23.3-ൽ നിന്ന് 41.7 ശതമാനം, കൂടുതലും ഗ്രാമങ്ങളിൽ. പക്ഷേ കണക്കിൽ വരുന്നതും നല്ല കൂലി കിട്ടുന്നതും രണ്ടാണ്. (→ English: labour force participation rate · हिन्दी: श्रम बल भागीदारी दर)

In exam EnglishFrom January 2025 the PLFS was redesigned with a much larger sample, about 2.7 lakh households a year. It now publishes monthly CWS estimates of the LFPR, WPR and unemployment rate for India as a whole, quarterly estimates for rural as well as urban areas, and annual estimates as before. The annual reports up to 2023-24 show a marked change. For persons aged 15 and above on usual status, the LFPR rose from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 60.1 per cent in 2023-24, the WPR from 46.8 to 58.2 per cent, and the unemployment rate fell from 6.0 to 3.2 per cent (PLFS, MoSPI, 2024). The largest shift was among women, whose LFPR went up from 23.3 to 41.7 per cent over the same years, mostly in rural areas. Female participation still lags far behind the male rate, and whether the new work is well paid is a separate question from whether it is counted.

നാല് ഏക്കർ വയലിനു നാലു പേർ മതി, പക്ഷേ വീട്ടിലെ ഏഴു പേരും അവിടെത്തന്നെ പണിയെടുക്കുന്നു എന്നു കരുതുക. മൂന്നു പേർ പോയാലും വിളവു കുറയില്ല — അതായത് ആ മൂന്നു പേർ പണിയെടുക്കുന്നതായി തോന്നിയാലും ശരിക്കും ആവശ്യമില്ല. ഇതാണു പ്രച്ഛന്ന തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ; സർവേയിൽ എല്ലാവരും 'പണിയുണ്ട്' എന്നു പറയുന്നതിനാൽ കണക്കിൽ കാണില്ല. മഴയെ ആശ്രയിക്കുന്ന ഗ്രാമങ്ങളിൽ കൊയ്ത്തിനും അടുത്ത വിതയ്ക്കും ഇടയിൽ പണിയില്ല — അതു കാലികമായ തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ; അപ്പോൾ പലരും നഗരങ്ങളിലേക്കു കുടിയേറും. (→ English: disguised unemployment · seasonal unemployment · हिन्दी: प्रच्छन्न बेरोज़गारी · मौसमी बेरोज़गारी)

In exam EnglishUnemployment comes in several kinds. Open unemployment is the plain case: people able and willing to work find none and are counted as unemployed. In disguised unemployment people seem employed but are not really needed. Suppose a family farm needs four workers and seven relatives work on it: three could leave with no fall in output, because their marginal product is close to zero. Economists long saw this as the typical form in Indian agriculture, where too many people share too little land, and it does not show up in surveys, since everyone on the farm reports working. Seasonal unemployment follows the calendar: in rain-fed villages there is little work between the harvest and the next sowing, and many people migrate for a few months to towns or to farms elsewhere in search of work.

ജോലി മാറുന്നതിനിടയിൽ കുറച്ചു ദിവസം ജോലിയില്ല — ഘർഷണ തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ, ഇതു സ്വാഭാവികം. കൈത്തറിക്കു പകരം മിൽ യന്ത്രങ്ങൾ വന്നാൽ നെയ്ത്തുകാരനു പഴയ കഴിവുകൊണ്ടു ജോലി കിട്ടില്ല — ഘടനാപരമായ തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ. മാന്ദ്യത്തിൽ ആവശ്യം കുറഞ്ഞു ഫാക്ടറികൾ ആളെ കുറച്ചാൽ — ചാക്രിക തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ. എൻജിനീയറിങ് പഠിച്ചയാൾ യോജിച്ച ജോലിക്കായി കാത്തിരുന്നാൽ — അഭ്യസ്തവിദ്യരുടെ തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മ. ദിവസം മുഴുവൻ പണി വേണ്ടയാൾക്കു രണ്ടു മണിക്കൂർ മാത്രം കിട്ടിയാൽ — അപൂർണ തൊഴിൽ. നമ്മുടെ നാട്ടിൽ തീരെ ജോലിയില്ലാത്തവരെക്കാൾ അപൂർണ തൊഴിലും കുറഞ്ഞ കൂലിയുമാണു കൂടുതൽ. (→ English: structural unemployment · underemployment · हिन्दी: संरचनात्मक बेरोज़गारी · अल्प-रोज़गार)

In exam EnglishOther types arise from how labour markets work. Frictional unemployment is the short gap while people move between jobs or search for their first one, and it exists even in a healthy economy. Structural unemployment is a lasting mismatch between the skills or locations of workers and the jobs on offer, as when machines replace an old craft or new industries need skills few workers have. Cyclical unemployment rises when demand falls in a downturn and eases in recovery. Educated unemployment describes young graduates who cannot find work suited to their training and may wait for it rather than take any job. Underemployment covers people who work, but fewer hours than they want, or at tasks well below their ability. In India open unemployment is modest, but underemployment and low-paid work are widespread, so the unemployment rate alone understates the problem; the second table sums up the types.

Types of unemployment
Type	Meaning	Example
Open	Able and willing to work but no work at all	A job-seeker with no work
Disguised	More people at work than needed; marginal product near zero	Seven family members on a farm that needs four
Seasonal	No work in part of the year	Rain-fed villages between harvest and sowing
Frictional	Short gap while changing or first finding a job	A worker between two jobs
Structural	Lasting mismatch of skills or location with jobs	A craft replaced by machines
Cyclical	Rises with a fall in demand in a downturn	Factory lay-offs in a recession
Educated	Graduates without work suited to their training	A graduate waiting for a suitable job
Underemployment	Working fewer hours than wanted or below ability	Two hours of work for someone who wants a full day

ഫാക്ടറി, സർക്കാർ ഓഫീസ് പോലുള്ളിടങ്ങളിൽ കരാർ, മാസശമ്പളം, പിഎഫ് ഉണ്ട് — അതു സംഘടിത മേഖല. വഴിയോരത്തെ പച്ചക്കറി വണ്ടി, വീട്ടുജോലിക്കാരി, കെട്ടിടനിർമാണ തൊഴിലാളി, പാടത്തെ കൂലിക്കാരൻ — ഇവരെല്ലാം അസംഘടിത മേഖല; എഴുതിയ കരാറില്ല, ശമ്പളത്തോടെ അവധിയില്ല. തൊഴിലുടമ രേഖ സൂക്ഷിക്കാത്തതിനാൽ പദ്ധതികൾ ഇവരിലെത്താൻ പ്രയാസം. അതിനാൽ 2021 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 26-ന് ഇ-ശ്രം പോർട്ടൽ: 16-59 വയസ്സുള്ള തൊഴിലാളികൾ ആധാറോടെ രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്താൽ ഒരു പൊതു അക്കൗണ്ട് നമ്പർ കിട്ടും. (→ English: unorganised sector · e-Shram · हिन्दी: असंगठित क्षेत्र · ई-श्रम)

In exam EnglishThe organised sector covers registered enterprises such as factories, government bodies and larger firms, where work usually comes with a contract, regular pay and social security. The unorganised sector covers the rest: small unregistered units, own-account work, farm labour, street vending, domestic work and much of construction. Most Indian workers are informally employed, without a written contract, paid leave or social security, and this includes many hired through contractors inside organised firms. Because no employer keeps their records, such workers are hard for welfare schemes to find. To build a national database, the Ministry of Labour and Employment launched the e-Shram portal on 26 August 2021: unorganised workers aged 16 to 59 register with Aadhaar and receive a Universal Account Number, so that benefits can reach them directly. Registrations passed 30 crore by December 2024 (PIB, 2024). The Code on Social Security, 2020, taught in Part 3, later named gig and platform workers in labour law.

ആകെ നോക്കിയാൽ: ആശയങ്ങൾ അനുപാതങ്ങൾ തരുന്നു, മൂന്നു നിലകൾ 'ആരാണു ജോലിയിൽ' എന്നു തീരുമാനിക്കുന്നു, PLFS സംഖ്യകൾ തരുന്നു. ഒരു സംഖ്യ കണ്ടാൽ — ഏത് അളവ്, ഏതു പ്രായക്കാർ, ഏതു വർഷം എന്നു ചോദിക്കണം. രോഗമനുസരിച്ചു മരുന്നു മാറുന്നതുപോലെ, തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മയുടെ തരമനുസരിച്ചു പരിഹാരം മാറും: ഗ്രാമത്തിലെ സീസൺ ഇടവേളയ്ക്ക് ഉറപ്പുള്ള പണി, കഴിവില്ലെങ്കിൽ പരിശീലനം, മാന്ദ്യത്തിന് ആവശ്യം കൂട്ടൽ. ആ പരിഹാരങ്ങൾ മൂന്നാം ഭാഗത്തിൽ. (→ English: employment · unemployment · हिन्दी: रोज़गार · बेरोज़गारी)

In exam EnglishThese ideas fit together. The labour force concepts give the ratios, the three activity statuses decide who is counted as working, and the PLFS supplies the numbers on each measure, now every month. Any figure must therefore be read with its measure, its age group and its year: a usual status rate for persons aged 15 and above is not comparable with a weekly rate for one urban quarter. The types of unemployment explain why no single remedy fits: guaranteed manual work suits seasonal and disguised unemployment in villages, skilling addresses structural mismatch, and support for demand eases cyclical unemployment. The size of the informal workforce explains why social security has been so hard to deliver. Part 3 takes up these remedies: the rural employment guarantee and its 2025 replacement, the labour codes and the employment schemes.

Exam traps

The unemployment rate is the unemployed as a share of the labour force, not of the population. LFPR and WPR are shares of the population.
Usual status uses a 365-day reference period: ps = major part of the year; ss = economic work for 30 days or more. CWS uses 7 days, with one hour of work on any day enough to count as employed.
CDS counts person-days in half-day units, not persons. Of the three, the usual status rate is generally the lowest and the CDS rate the highest.
The PLFS began in 2017 (first annual report July 2017 – June 2018). Before the 2025 redesign its quarterly CWS estimates covered urban areas only; monthly CWS estimates and rural quarterly estimates began from 2025.
PLFS 2023-24 (usual status, age 15+): LFPR 60.1 per cent, WPR 58.2 per cent, unemployment rate 3.2 per cent; female LFPR 41.7 per cent, up from 23.3 per cent in 2017-18.
Disguised unemployment does not show up in the unemployment rate, because those affected report that they are working; their marginal product is close to zero.
Frictional unemployment exists even at full employment; structural unemployment is a long-term mismatch of skills or location, while cyclical unemployment follows the business cycle.
e-Shram (26 August 2021, Ministry of Labour and Employment) is for unorganised workers aged 16 to 59 and gives a Universal Account Number linked to Aadhaar.

Recap

Labour force = employed + unemployed (seeking or available for work); students, homemakers and the retired are outside it.
LFPR = labour force ÷ population; WPR = employed ÷ population; unemployment rate = unemployed ÷ labour force.
Usual status (365 days): principal status by major time, subsidiary status for 30 days or more of work; ps+ss is the headline annual measure.
CWS (7 days, one hour on any day) catches short spells; CDS (each day, half-day units) counts person-days and gives the highest rate.
The PLFS (NSO, from 2017) replaced the five-yearly surveys; since January 2025 it gives monthly CWS and rural plus urban quarterly estimates from a larger sample.
PLFS 2017-18 to 2023-24 (usual status, 15+): LFPR 49.8 to 60.1 per cent, unemployment rate 6.0 to 3.2 per cent, female LFPR 23.3 to 41.7 per cent.
Types: open, disguised, seasonal, frictional, structural, cyclical, educated unemployment and underemployment; India has modest open unemployment but much underemployment.
Most workers are informal; e-Shram (2021) registers unorganised workers aged 16 to 59 with a Universal Account Number.

Practice questions

Q1. In a village, 55 adults are working, 5 are seeking work and 40 are full-time students or homemakers. What is the unemployment rate?

5 per cent
About 8.3 per cent
About 9.1 per cent
60 per cent

Show answer

Answer: B. About 8.3 per cent

The labour force is 55 + 5 = 60, and the unemployment rate is 5 ÷ 60, about 8.3 per cent. 5 per cent wrongly divides by the whole population of 100; about 9.1 per cent wrongly divides by the employed (5 ÷ 55); 60 per cent is the labour force participation rate.

Q2. Consider the following statements about the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS):
1. Under current weekly status, a person who worked for at least one hour on any day of the reference week is counted as employed.
2. Under usual status, a person who did economic work for 30 days or more in the reference year is counted as a worker in subsidiary status.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct: one hour on any day of the week is the CWS test, and 30 days or more of economic work in the year makes a person a subsidiary-status worker. So '1 only', '2 only' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Q3. Which of the following measures of activity status counts person-days rather than persons, and therefore usually gives the highest unemployment rate?

Usual principal status
Usual status (principal plus subsidiary)
Current weekly status
Current daily status

Show answer

Answer: D. Current daily status

Current daily status records each day of the reference week in half-day units, so it counts person-days and picks up idle days of people who work only part of the week. The two usual status measures look across 365 days and count persons, giving lower rates; current weekly status also counts persons and treats one hour of work in the week as employment.

Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. Before 2025, the PLFS gave quarterly estimates for both rural and urban areas.
2. From 2025, the PLFS publishes monthly estimates on current weekly status for India as a whole.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Statement 1 is wrong: before the 2025 redesign the quarterly CWS estimates covered urban areas only; rural quarterly estimates were added in 2025. Statement 2 is correct. So '1 only', 'Both' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Q5. According to the PLFS annual reports (usual status, persons aged 15 and above), which of the following best describes the change between 2017-18 and 2023-24?

LFPR rose and the unemployment rate fell
LFPR fell and the unemployment rate rose
Both LFPR and the unemployment rate rose
Female LFPR fell while male LFPR rose

Show answer

Answer: A. LFPR rose and the unemployment rate fell

LFPR rose from 49.8 to 60.1 per cent and the unemployment rate fell from 6.0 to 3.2 per cent. The second and third options get the direction of one or both wrong, and female LFPR did not fall: it rose from 23.3 to 41.7 per cent.

Q6. A situation in which more people work on a family farm than are needed, so that some could leave without any fall in output, is called

frictional unemployment
disguised unemployment
cyclical unemployment
open unemployment

Show answer

Answer: B. disguised unemployment

In disguised unemployment the marginal product of the extra workers is close to zero although they appear employed. Frictional unemployment is the short gap between jobs; cyclical unemployment comes from a downturn in demand; open unemployment means having no work at all, whereas these workers report that they are working.

Q7. Match the following types of unemployment with their descriptions:
A. Structural B. Seasonal C. Frictional D. Cyclical
1. No work between harvest and sowing
2. A short gap while moving between jobs
3. A lasting mismatch between workers' skills and available jobs
4. A rise in unemployment when demand falls in a recession
Select the correct code:

A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2
A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

Structural is a lasting skill mismatch (3), seasonal follows the farm calendar (1), frictional is the gap between jobs (2) and cyclical follows a fall in demand (4). The second code swaps structural and seasonal and misplaces the rest; the third swaps seasonal and frictional; the fourth swaps structural and cyclical.

Q8. With reference to the e-Shram portal, consider the following statements:
1. It was launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2021 to build a national database of unorganised workers.
2. Only workers aged 18 to 40 years can register on it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: the portal was launched on 26 August 2021. Statement 2 is wrong: registration is open to unorganised workers aged 16 to 59. So '2 only', 'Both' and 'Neither' are wrong.

All parts Next: Part 3 →

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Sources

National Statistics Office, MoSPI: Periodic Labour Force Survey, Annual Report July 2023 – June 2024 and press note (September 2024), with concepts and definitions; Changes in PLFS from January 2025 (2024) — https://www.mospi.gov.in
Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment: releases on the e-Shram portal (2021, December 2024) — https://pib.gov.in
The Code on Social Security, 2020 — https://www.indiacode.nic.in
Economic Survey, chapters on employment, jobs and skilling (recent editions) — https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/