New Delhi: The number of employed people in the country increased to 64.33 crore in 2023-24 from 47.5 crore in 2017-18, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday, citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

In a written reply, she said the 'KLEMS (K: Capital, L: Labour, E: Energy, M: Materials and S: Services)' database published by RBI provides employment estimates, including for the manufacturing sector, at the all-India level.

She also cited data from the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), stating that the estimated female Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for individuals aged 15 years and above rose from 28.7 per cent in 2019-20 to 40.3 per cent in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry on Wednesday dismissed a media report questioning the accuracy of official job data. It said PLFS is a globally recognised, empirical and statistically robust source for employment and unemployment statistics in India.

PLFS is based on a large-scale, stratified, multi-stage random sampling framework covering both rural and urban areas, and since January 2025, it has also begun generating monthly estimates, in addition to annual and quarterly outputs.

The survey methodology adheres to international standards, including definitions prescribed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and is consistent with protocols used by global institutions like the World Bank, UNDP, and ILOstat.

As per PLFS data, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for those aged 15 and above increased from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 60.1 per cent in 2023-24. During the same period, the Worker Population Ratio rose from 46.8 per cent to 58.2 per cent, and the Unemployment Rate declined from 6 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

The youth unemployment rate dropped from 17.8 per cent to 10.2 per cent—below the global youth unemployment rate of 13.3 per cent, as reported in the ILO's World Employment and Social Outlook 2024.

“These indicators suggest greater absorption of the workforce into productive employment and refute the false narrative regarding widespread youth disengagement,” the ministry stated.