Page 18 - Policy Economic Report - September 2024

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Unemployment in India

• India’s overall unemployment rate comprising both urban and rural areas came down to 4.9% in
2023-2024, from 5.1% in 2022-23, quoting the results of annual periodic labor force survey (PLFS).

• The labor force participation rate (LFPR) also saw an increase in 2023-24, to 56.4% from 54.6% in
2022-23. The urban LFPR rose to 50.8% from 49.4%, and rural LFPR climbed up to 58.9% from
56.7%.

• The reduction in unemployment rate is consistent with the economic growth (8.2%) in the last
fiscal year.

• This was the first time the unemployment rate (UR), measured by the current weekly status
(CWS), fell below the 5% mark. The first annual PLFS survey was conducted in 2017-18, when the
UR was 8.7%, and it has since been on a declining trend.

• The CWS measures the activity status of a person based on a reference period of the last 7 days
preceding the date of survey. CWS is used to determine the quarterly urban unemployment rates,
as well as the annual rural rates.

• The country’s overall worker population ratio (WPR) increased to 53.7% in 2023-24 from 51.8% in
2022-23. In urban areas, the WPR increased to 47.4% from 46%, and in rural areas it rose to 56.5%
from 54.2%. WPR denotes the percentage of employed persons in the population.

India’s external position

India’s forex reserves
• India's forex reserves jumped by $223 million to hit a fresh all-time high of $689.46 billion for the

week ended September 13, 2024.

• According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, foreign currency assets (FCAs)
dipped by $515 million to $603.63 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect
of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign
exchange reserves.

• Gold reserves saw a surge of $899 million to $62.8 billion. Meanwhile, SDRs for above mentioned
week were down by $53 million to stand at $18.42 billion. Reserve position in the IMF dipped by
$108 million to $4.52 billion.

India’s foreign trade position

• India’s total exports (Merchandise and Services combined) for August 2024 is estimated at USD
65.40 Billion, registering a negative growth of 2.38 percent vis-à-vis August 2023.

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