The number of employed persons slightly decreased by 1,000, bringing the total to 32.618 million in April 2024. Consequently, the employment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 49.5 per cent, with a breakdown of 66.9 per cent for men and 32.5 per cent for women.

The labour force in April 2024 comprised 35.661 million people, a reduction of 18,000 from the previous month. The labour force participation rate remained steady at 54.2 per cent, with men's participation at 72.1 per cent and women's at 36.6 per cent, as per the survey.

Youth unemployment, targeting the 15-24 age group, decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 14.5 per cent, with a rate of 12.2 per cent for men and 19.1 per cent for women.

Seasonally and calendar-adjusted data indicated an increase in average weekly working hours, rising by 0.6 hours to 44.3 hours in April 2024.

However, the composite measure of labour underutilisation, which includes time-related underemployment, potential labour force, and unemployment, increased by 3.1 percentage points to 27.2 per cent. The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment stood at 19.7 per cent, while the combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force was estimated at 17.1 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)