Page 347 - economic review

319 EMPLOYMENT

Box 9.2
Different approaches adopted in India for the estimation of

Key Employment and Unemployment Indicators

Different approaches for determining activity status are carried out on the basis of activities
pursued by individuals during certain specified reference periods. Based on three periods viz;
(i) one year, (ii) one week and (iii) each day of the reference week, four different measures of
activity status are arrived at. These are termed as usual principal status (UPS), usual principal
and subsidiary status (UPSS), current weekly status (CWS) and current daily status (CDS).

Usual Principal Status: It relates to the activity status of a person during the reference period
of last 365 days preceding the date of survey. Thus a person is classified as belonging to
labour force, if s/he had been either working or looking for work during longer part of the 365
days preceding the survey. All those who are employed and/or unemployed for a total of less
than six months are excluded from the labour force in the UPS approach. Thus persons, who

work intermittently, either because of the pattern of work in the household farm or enterprise
or due to economic compulsions and other reasons, would not be included in the labour force
unless their days at work and unemployment totalled over half the reference year.

Usual Principal And Subsidiary Status: This concept was introduced to widen the UPS
concept. It also relates to the activity status of a person during the reference period of last
365 days preceding the date of survey. However, here the persons employed in a subsidiary
capacity are also considered. In other words, all those who were either un-employed or out
of labour force but had worked for at least 30 days in the reference year were treated as
subsidiary status workers. By including some workers, who were considered as outside the
labour force as per UPS approach, in the UPSS labour force, the UPSS estimates of labour
force will always be higher than the UPS estimates of labour force. Whereas, in the case of
unemployment the number as per UPSS approach will be less as compared to UPS approach,
because of the conceptual difference.

Current Weekly Status: It relates to the activity status of a person during a reference period
of 7 days preceding the date of survey. Under CWS, a person is classified to be in labour force,
if s/he has either worked or is seeking and/or available for work at least one hour during the
reference period of one week preceding the date of survey.

Current Daily Status: This approach is associated with person-days not to persons as in the
case of other three approaches. It is computed on the basis of the information on employment
and unemployment recorded for the 14 half days (7 days) of the reference week. The
employment statuses during the seven days are recorded in terms of half or full intensities. An
hour or more but less than four hours is taken as half intensity and four hours or more is taken
as full intensity. The employment statuses so determined for each day of the reference week is
aggregated to arrive at total person-days of employment and unemployment in the economy.

Source: Various NSS Reports

Economic Review 2014