Unemployment at 6.1% in 2017-18

India’s unemployment rate stood at 6.1% in 2017-18, according to a new survey released by the Government of India. The Minister of State for Labour Santosh Gangwar stated that the government is now conducting a new Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) with new parameters and a larger sample size, so the results cannot be compared with the previous surveys. “As per the new Periodic Labour Force Survey being conducted by the government, the labour force participation is 36.9 per cent and the rate of unemployment for 2017-18 is 6.1 per cent,” he said. He added that this was an attempt to provide authentic data with the new survey conducted through the Ministry of Statistics. “We are focusing on infrastructure development and ease of doing business and India’s position in the world has improved. India has improved its position to 63rd rank now in 2019 against 196 in previous years,” he added.