The urban unemployment in India stood at 6.5% in the three months to December, the lowest since the June 2018 quarter, and down 0.7% over the prior year, reports The Hindustan Times, citing data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey by the National Sample Survey Office. Although the urban unemployment number showed improvement, the quality of jobs, unlike their quantity, continued to be a cause for concern, as the share of unpaid employment increased. The quarterly survey does not include rural areas. The quarterly bulletin only provides summary employment statistics for urban areas in the current weekly status, or the employment situation in the week before the survey. It showed the unemployment rate was 6.5% in the December quarter, 0.7% lower than in the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 39.2% in the December quarter, the highest for the December quarter in the series and also the highest for any quarter in the series.