The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) maps the state of employment in the country. It collects data on several variables such as the level of unemployment, the types of employment, their respective shares, the wages earned from different kinds of jobs, the number of hours worked etc. This article will highlight various aspects of PLFS which are essential to understand from the perspective of the UPSC examination.

What is the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)?

• PLFS was launched by National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2017 and is India’s first computer-based survey.
• It was constituted based on the recommendation of the Amitabh Kundu committee.
• Earlier the National Sample Survey Organisation(NSSO) was used to bring the data related to employment and unemployment based on its quinquennial (every 5 years) household socio-economic survey program.

Features of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• On the basis of the data collected in PLFS, three Annual Reports of PLFS corresponding to the periods July 2017 - June 2018, July 2018 - June 2019, and July 2019 - June 2020 covering both rural and urban areas have been released.
• Also, eight Quarterly Bulletins of PLFS corresponding to the quarters covered during the period December 2018 to September 2020 have already been released.
• Quarterly bulletins estimates of labor force provide information about Worker population ratio (WPR), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), etc.
• A rotational panel sampling design is used in urban areas where each selected household in urban areas is visited four times.
• This scheme rotation ensures that 75% of the first-stage sampling units (FSUs) are matched between two consecutive visits.

Objectives of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• It helps to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators such as Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate in a short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
• It also assists to estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.

Various Terminologies of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labor force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): WPR is defined as the percentage of persons employed in the population.
• Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among those persons that are present in the labor force.
• Activity Status- Usual Status: When the activity status is determined on the basis of the reference period of the last 365 days preceding the date of the survey, it is known as the usual activity status of the person.
• Activity Status- Current Weekly Status (CWS): The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of the last 7 days preceding the date of the survey is known as the CWS of the person.

Findings of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• The rate of unemployment decreased to 4.8% in 2019-20. In 2018-19, it stood at 5.8% and 6.1% in 2017-18.
• Worker Population Rate (WPR) increased to 38.2% in 2019-20 as compared with 35.3% in 2018-19 and 34.7% in 2017-18.
• Labour Force Participation Ratio (LFPR) increased to 40.1% in 2019-20 from 37.5% and 36.9%, respectively, in the last two years. An increase in LFPR is considered to be better.
• Gender-Based Unemployment Rate showed the jobless rate for both males and females decreased to 5.1% and 4.2%, respectively, in 2019-20 from 6% and 5.2% in 2018-19. WPR and LFPR also improved during the year.

Conclusion

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) maps the state of employment in the country. It provides an accurate measure of the participation of the workforce in the economy. This can be used by the government to understand the growth of the labor market and take necessary steps to reduce the unemployment rate.