NEW DELHI: In a significant shift towards more frequent economic data dissemination, the Central government will begin releasing unemployment figures on a monthly basis starting May 15, a senior official from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation announced on Monday.
According to PTI, the initial release will cover data for the months of January, February, and March, and subsequent reports will be published each month thereafter.
“This is the first time that we are doing it,” the official stated, emphasizing the government’s commitment to increasing the frequency and transparency of labour market data.
Until now, India has been publishing urban unemployment data on a quarterly basis and combined rural-urban unemployment statistics annually. Unlike other major economies, India has lacked a system for high-frequency unemployment data collection and dissemination.
As reported by PTI, the official assured that the new data collection process is statistically robust and representative, with internal consistency checks being carried out to ensure accuracy.
The official also confirmed that the government will meet its previously announced timeline to release private capital expenditure data by the end of April, PTI said.
Looking ahead, the government plans to expand the scope of data collection further. According to PTI, beginning next year, findings from a survey of service sector enterprises will also be published.
Additionally, the government is working towards releasing data on the informal sector—collected through the annual survey of the unincorporated sector—on a quarterly basis, the official revealed.
In another notable development, a quarterly periodic labour force survey for rural areas is also in the pipeline, PTI reported.
“Data is the new oil, and there is a need for it to be both credible and timely,” the official stated, adding that Indian statistics are globally regarded as robust, credible, and transparent.