Of people in the labour force (working or looking for work), what share cannot find work. A low rate is not automatically good news: people who cannot afford to stay unemployed take any informal work, so read it beside the salaried-jobs card.
lower is better
vs all communities: +0.0pp even
Explore the interactive chart, with breakdowns by sex and urban vs rural →
| Community | Latest value |
|---|---|
| Muslim | 3.2% |
| Hindu | 3.1% |
| Sikh | 5.8% |
| Christian | 4.8% |
| All communities | 3.2% |
| Community | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim | 3.1% | 3.6% |
| Hindu | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Christian | 4.3% | 5.5% |
| Sikh | 5.0% | 7.9% |
| All communities | 3.2% | 3.2% |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th). Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
| Community | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim | 4.5% | 2.6% |
| Hindu | 5.1% | 2.4% |
| Christian | 6.6% | 3.9% |
| Sikh | 6.2% | 5.7% |
| All communities | 5.1% | 2.5% |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th). Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
At 3.2%, measured Muslim unemployment in 2023 was barely above the Hindu rate of 3.1%, and well below its late-2010s peak. But a low unemployment rate is not the good news it looks like: people who cannot afford to sit idle take whatever informal work they can find, so distress, not comfort, often keeps the number down.
The chart tracks the share of the labour force that is unemployed; the 2017 dashed break marks the switch to the PLFS survey. Read it alongside the salaried-jobs and consumption cards, because a low rate here sits next to low-paid, insecure work. The By sex and Urban vs rural tabs show where joblessness concentrates: among the educated, the urban and the young.
Open unemployment counts only those who can hold out for a job. For a poorer community it understates the real problem, which is not idleness but the scarcity of secure, decently paid work.
At paritygap narrowing
Muslim 3.2% vs Hindu 3.1% in 2023, about level. Muslim unemployment ran clearly above the Hindu rate from 2017 to 2019 and has since converged; the gap that matters now is in the quality of work, not the headline rate.
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