Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin: October-December 2021

The National Statistical Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, initiated the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017. The survey provides estimates for indicators such as the labour force participation rate (LFPR), the worker population ratio (WPR), and includes data on the employment status of workers and the sector (agriculture, secondary or tertiary) they work in. It also supplies data on the unemployment rate (UR) in the country. Data is calculated in urban areas as per the current weekly status (CWS), that is, “on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey.” The results of the survey are released in the form of quarterly bulletins, each covering three months of the survey year. This quarterly bulletin – covering the period of October to December 2021 – is the thirteenth publication in the PLFS series. The data collection on the field for this report concluded in January 2022. The survey for this quarter covered 172,944 people from 44,553 households across 5,691 urban frame survey (UFS) blocks. The sample included 88,091 men and 84,833 women. Additionally, the report also provides data from the four preceding quarters: July-September 2021, April-June 2021, January-March 2021, and October-December 2020. This 64-page document contains three sections: Introduction (Section 1); Key findings (Section 2); and Sample Size (Section 3).