New Delhi, May 15 (IANS): The unemployment rate in India's urban areas decreased to 6.7 per cent during January-March 2024 from 6.8 per cent in the same period of the previous year for persons aged 15 and above, reflecting a continued improvement in the job markets, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Wednesday.

The figures show that the female unemployment rate in the urban areas decreased from 9.2 per cent in January-March 2023 to 8.5 per cent in January-March 2024.

There has also been an increasing trend in the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 and above from 45.2 per cent in January-March 2023 to 46.9 per cent in January-March 2024.

This also shows an increase in employment as WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.

Similarly, the Female Worker Population Ratio in the urban areas rose from 20.6 per cent to 23.4 per cent from January-March 2023 to January-March 2024, reflecting the overall increasing trend in WPR.

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in the urban areas shows an increasing trend from 48.5 per cent during January-March 2023 to 50.2 per cent in January-March 2024 for persons aged 15 and above. This also reflects an improvement in the job market.