Report
Report
On
Indian Labour Force Estimation using
PLFS Unit-level Data
(2017-18 to 2021-22)
Team Members:
Vaibhavi Pingale
Santoshi Rajguru
Aarya Gandre
Smriti Saxena
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Intentionally Left Blank
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Table of Content: List of States and Union Territories (UTs)
1. India
2. Jammu & Kashmir
3. Himachal Pradesh
4. Punjab
5. Chandigarh
6. Uttarakhand
7. Haryana
8. Delhi
9. Rajasthan
10. Uttar Pradesh
11. Bihar
12. Sikkim
13. Arunachal Pradesh
14. Nagaland
15. Manipur
16. Mizoram
17. Tripura
18. Meghalaya
19. Assam
20. West Bengal
21. Jharkhand
22. Odisha
23. Chhattisgarh
24. Madhya Pradesh
25. Gujarat
26. Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli
27. Maharashtra
28. Andhra Pradesh
29. Karnataka
30. Goa
31. Lakshadweep
32. Kerala
33. Tamil Nadu
34. Puducherry
35. Andaman & Nicobar
36. Telangana
37. Ladakh
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Preface
India presently possesses the most expensive capital in the world, that is, human capital, the Demographic
Dividend. Optimum utilization of this labour resource would determine the path of growth and development for the
country. On this line the first step should be understand the labour market to formulate policies on employment and
unemployment, welfare and social security.
This report is an attempt to delve into the details of the Indian Labour market using the unit level data of Periodic
Labour Force Survey (PLFS) collected by National Statistical Survey Office (NSSO). Using the data of five years,
2017-18; 2018-19; 2019-20; 2020-21; and, 2021-22, the report estimates the number of labour force present at
India-level and in 36 States and UTs of India.
Labour Force, here, as defined by the PLFS considers working age population who is employed and also the ones
who are looking for jobs but are presently unemployed.
To estimate the labour force as a part of the total population, Census data has been used. For the same, Census
population for the years mentioned-above has been projected using the formula given by the Economic Survey.
Further, using the multipliers provided in the PLFS data, India-level and each State-level labour force has been
estimated.
The estimates in this report are closer to the NITI Aayog’s Working Paper ‘Workforce Changes and Employment
Some Findings from PLFS Data Series’ by Ramesh Chand and Jaspal Singh (March 2022). The working paper
estimated labour force and working population for three years 2017-18; 2018-19; and 2019-20. This particular
report is dedicated to five years PLFS data and has taken into consideration the latest annual data available.
This report additionally categorized the labour force into sectors particularly rural and urban and genders male and
female.
To estimate the organized and unorganized sector labour force the reference given by the National Commission for
Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS), 2006 has been used. It points out that “The unorganised sector
consists of all unincorporated private enterprises owned by individuals or households engaged in the sale and
production of goods and services operated on a proprietary or partnership basis and with less than ten total
workers. However, “informal workers consist of those working in the unorganised enterprises or households,
excluding regular workers with social security benefits, and the workers in the formal sector without any
employment benefits/social security provided by the employers.”
The values mentioned in the report refer to number of persons and not percentage. It has taken into consideration
geo-political changes occurred in terms of new states and Union Territories of India. Hence, the labour has been
separately estimated for them. For example, the newly formed UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The report aims to provide database and overview of labour market, sector-wise; gender-wise; and, organized and
unorganized workers-wise that can be utilized by the academicians and policymakers as data pointers to study the
phenomenon in detail.
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India
5
India
6
Jammu & Kashmir
7
Jammu & Kashmir
8
Himachal Pradesh
9
Himachal Pradesh
10
Punjab
11
Punjab
12
Chandigarh
13
Chandigarh
14
Uttarakhand
15
Uttarakhand
16
Haryana
17
Haryana
18
Delhi
19
Delhi
20
Rajasthan
21
Rajasthan
22
Uttar Pradesh
23
Uttar Pradesh
24
Bihar
25
Bihar
26
Sikkim
27
Sikkim
28
Arunachal Pradesh
29
Arunachal Pradesh
30
Nagaland
31
Nagaland
32
Manipur
33
Manipur
34
Mizoram
35
Mizoram
36
Tripura
37
Tripura
38
Meghalaya
39
Meghalaya
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Assam
41
Assam
42
West Bengal
43
West Bengal
44
Jharkhand
45
Jharkhand
46
Odisha
47
Odisha
48
Chhattisgarh
49
Chhattisgarh
50
Madhya Pradesh
51
Madhya Pradesh
52
Gujarat
53
Gujarat
54
Daman & Diu
55
Daman & Diu
56
Dadra Nagar Haveli
57
Dadra Nagar Haveli
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Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli
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Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli
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Maharashtra
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Maharashtra
62
Andhra Pradesh
63
Andhra Pradesh
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Karnataka
65
Karnataka
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Goa
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Goa
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Lakshadweep
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Lakshadweep
70
Kerala
71
Kerala
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Tamil Nadu
73
Tamil Nadu
74
Puducherry
75
Puducherry
76
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
77
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
78
Telangana
79
Telangana
80
Ladakh
81
Ladakh
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***END***
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