Government to Enhance Labour Market Monitoring with Detailed Unemployment Estimates for Major Cities

Government to Publish City-Level Unemployment Estimates for 49 Major Urban Centres

The government is planning to release city-level unemployment estimates for 49 major urban centres, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Jaipur. The proposed dataset will also cover other cities such as Greater Visakhapatnam, Patna, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kota, and Mysore.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) currently publishes unemployment indicators at the national, state, and urban-rural levels, but city-level labour market estimates are not available. The new framework will provide policymakers with better insights into sectoral employment shifts, migration trends, and job creation patterns in urban areas.

Key Features of the Proposed Framework:

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• City-level unemployment estimates to be released alongside quarterly state-level data
• Migration survey to track mobility trends across the country after a decade-long hiatus
• District-level data to be extended to other statistics
• States to release district-level GDP numbers in a timely manner to assess economic momentum

The move forms part of a broader push by the government to expand the scope of official surveys and strengthen statistical monitoring of economic activity. The new framework is expected to provide policymakers with more granular data to assess the impact of policy measures and infrastructure investments at the city level, ultimately contributing to better labour market momentum.