Question

Labour indicators recorded a sharp, all-round improvement in 2020-21 (July-June) compared with the previous three years, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday showed. The annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2020 to June 2021 showed that the unemployment rate, as per usual status (reference period of last 365 days preceding the survey), eased to _________ per cent from 4.8 per cent in 2019-20. As per the current weekly status (reference period of one week) — contrary to perceived expectations of a likely hit on jobs — unemployment rate eased to 7.5 per cent in 2020-21 from 8.8 per cent. But there is a catch: while the overall employment situation showed improvement, the rise was seen mostly in low-quality, unpaid work. While the overall employment situation showed improvement, the rise was seen in low-quality, unpaid work. Employment in the unpaid self-employed category continued to show an increase in 2020-21 by rising to 17.3 per cent from 15.9 per cent in 2019-20 and 13.3 per cent in 2018-19. Rural unpaid employment also showed increase to 21.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 20.0 per cent in the previous year, while that for urban areas increased to 6.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent.