Centre Slams Reuters For Relying on Perception-Based Survey, Defends India’s Official Unemployment Data

The Government has strongly pushed back against a recent Reuters report questioning the credibility of India’s official unemployment data, calling the news agency's report a “perception-based” survey that lacks empirical substance and statistical rigour.

Citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) as a reliable and internationally benchmarked source, the government noted that the survey adheres to globally accepted methodologies prescribed by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The PLFS, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), uses a large-scale, stratified sampling approach across rural and urban India.

Since January 2025, it has been producing monthly estimates in addition to annual and quarterly reports, allowing timely analysis of labour trends.

The government expressed concern over the Reuters piece’s reliance on anonymous views from about 50 economists without detailing their background, selection process, or the basis of their assessments.

“Expert opinion can offer valuable insights, but it cannot be a substitute for large-scale, representative, and methodologically robust surveys," the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a statement.

India’s employment metrics, it argued, paint a markedly different picture.

Labour force participation among those aged 15 and above has risen from 49.8 per cent in 2017–18 to 60.1 per cent in 2023–24, while the unemployment rate fell sharply from 6.0 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

Youth unemployment dropped to 10.2 per cent, below the global average of 13.3 per cent.

Backing the positive trends, the RBI’s KLEMS database indicates job creation grew by 16.83 crore between 2017–18 and 2023–24.

The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added 1.29 crore net subscribers in 2024–25 alone, signalling greater formalisation of the workforce.

Further, official data shows a steady rise in wages. The average daily earnings for casual labourers have grown from Rs 294 in 2017 to Rs 433 in 2024, while salaried employees now earn an average monthly income of Rs 21,103, up from Rs 16,538.

Reuters in the article contended that India’s official unemployment data significantly understates the real extent of joblessness and underemployment.

Citing a poll of 50 independent economists—of whom 37 said the figures are inaccurate, it argued that outdated definitions and methodologies masked the severity of the issue.

The economists quoted in the article estimated that the actual jobless rate could be nearly double the official 5.6 per cent reported in June 2025.

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