Unemployment rate jumps 65% in Nagaland, reversing four-year trend

September 28, 2024 3 Views No Comment

• Second highest among states; more than double the national average
• Rural areas fare better than urban

Moa Jamir
Dimapur | September 28

After declining for four consecutive years, the unemployment rate (UR) in Nagaland surged by over 65% in 2023-24, highlighted the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on September 26.

During the period from July 2023 to June 2024, the unemployment rate in Nagaland in the 15 years and above category stood at 7.1%, indicating a 65.12% surge from last year’s 4.3%.

Though relatively low compared to previous years barring 2022-23, the latest rate reversed a declining trend witnessed over the last four years of the survey.

To recall, Nagaland had a 25.7% unemployment rate in 2019-20 and 19.2% in 2020-21, earning the unflattering distinction of having one of the highest unemployment rates among the states and Union Territories (UTs) in India..

The rate declined to 9.1% in 2021-22 and 4.3% in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, the 2023-24 status for Nagaland reflected the second-highest unemployment rate among the states in the 15 years and above category, after Goa, which had 8.5%.

However, with 11.9% and 11.8% respectively, the Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep had the highest unemployment rates in India among all the states and UTs listed.

Nagaland’s status, however, remained above the all-India average of 3.2%.

The unemployment rate for all ages in Nagaland stood at 7.7% against the national average of 4.1%.

In the working-age group of 15-59 years, the rate was 7.8%, double the all-India rate of 3.5%.

The PLFS report also highlighted that the unemployment rate is more prevalent in the urban sector than in the rural sector in Nagaland, with the former showing 11.3% against 5.7% for the latter in the 15 years and above age category.

Meanwhile, among those employed in Nagaland, 60.1% identified themselves as self-employed, down from 67% last year.
Out of the self-employed, 51.5% were own-account workers, while 8.6% were helpers in household enterprises. A total of 44.9% identified as own account workers, and 22% as helpers among the self-employed last year.

A total of 31.9% received regular wages/salaries (up from 27.6% in 2022-23), while 8% (up from 5.4% last year) were casual workers.

The all-India average for self-employed individuals was 59.4%, while those receiving regular wages/salaries stood at 15.8%.
At 27.4%, youth unemployment (15-29 years) was also among the highest in India, and way above national average at 10.2%.

What is PLFS?
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has been conducted annually by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI since 2017, and the sixth annual report is based on data collected for the period from July 2023 to June 2024. The major objectives of PLFS are to measure employment and unemployment across the country.

The unemployment rate cited in the survey is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labor force and is based on the usual status, which estimates persons who either worked or were seeking/available for work for a relatively long part of the 365 days preceding the date of the survey, and those from the remaining population who had worked for at least 30 days during the reference period.

According to MoSPI, for the latest report, the survey in Nagaland covered 71 villages, 568 households, and 2,393 persons.

Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/unemployment-rate-jumps-65-in-nagaland-reversing-four-year-trend