UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The fact is youth unemployment has a household cost

Question 1

With reference to the findings of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report, 2025, consider the following:
1. The youth (15-29 years) unemployment rate in usual status declined to 9.9% in 2025 from 10.3% in 2024.
2. The urban youth unemployment rate stood at 13.6% in 2025, as against 14.3% in 2024.
3. The rural youth unemployment rate rose to 8.7% in 2025 from 8.3% in 2024.
4. The Worker Population Ratio for persons of age 15 years and above was 57.4% in 2025.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 3 only

Question 2

With reference to labour force indicators for 2025 as reported for India, consider the following:
1. The Labour Force Participation Rate in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above was 59.3%.
2. The Worker Population Ratio for females of age 15 years and above was 38.8%.
3. The Labour Force Participation Rate for males of age 15 years and above was 76.6%.
4. The unemployment rate among tertiary-educated youth was reported at 29.4%, against 14.8% for all 18-29 year-olds.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 3

Consider the following statements comparing the Periodic Labour Force Survey as it stood up to December 2024 with its revamped design effective from January 2025:
1. Up to December 2024 the survey yielded quarterly labour market indicators for urban areas only, whereas quarterly estimates are now generated for both rural and urban areas.
2. The annual sample was raised from 12,800 First Stage Units to 22,692 First Stage Units, and the number of households canvassed within a selected First Stage Unit was raised from 8 to 12.
3. The survey's reference cycle was shifted from the January-December calendar year to a July-June cycle.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 4

The National Statistical Office, under whose authority the Periodic Labour Force Survey is fielded, was created in May 2005 by merging the erstwhile National Sample Survey Organisation with which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Central Statistical Organisation of the Government of India

Answer

The Computer Centre of the erstwhile Department of Statistics

Answer

The Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, an institute of national importance

Answer

The Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment

Question 5

Consider the following statements regarding the concepts used in India's official labour force statistics:
1. Under the Current Weekly Status approach the activity status of a person is determined with reference to the seven days preceding the date of survey.
2. The unemployment rate is the proportion of unemployed persons in the labour force, whereas the Worker Population Ratio is the proportion of employed persons in the population.
3. For persons of age 15 years and above in 2025, the all-India Labour Force Participation Rate was lower than the corresponding Worker Population Ratio.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 6

India's monthly all-India estimates of the labour force participation rate, worker population ratio and unemployment rate, released since January 2025, are compiled on the basis of which one of the following activity status approaches?

Accepted Answer

Current Weekly Status, based on the seven days preceding the survey

Answer

Usual Principal Status alone, based on a reference period of 365 days

Answer

Current Daily Status, based on each half-day of the reference week

Answer

Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status, based on a 30-day reference period

Question 7

With reference to official Indian projections of the country's age structure up to 2041, consider the following:
1. The share of the population aged 0-19 years is projected to fall from about 41% in 2011 to about 25% by 2041.
2. The share of the population aged 60 years and above is projected to nearly double from about 8.6% in 2011 to about 16% by 2041.
3. The working-age population is projected to grow by about 9.7 million a year during 2021-31 and by about 4.2 million a year during 2031-41.
4. Every State will remain within its demographic dividend window until 2041, as the dividend accrues uniformly across the country.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 8

The projection that India's demographic window of opportunity runs roughly from 2011 to 2041, with the working-age population's annual increment slowing sharply after 2031, was set out in which one of the following official documents?

Accepted Answer

The chapter 'India's Demography at 2040' in the Economic Survey 2018-19

Answer

The National Population Policy, 2000 of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Answer

The document 'Strategy for New India @75' released by NITI Aayog in 2018

Answer

The employment chapter of the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report, 2025

Question 9

In labour force statistics, the NEET rate for a given youth age group is best described as which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

Young persons who are neither in employment nor in education or training, as a percentage of the total youth population

Answer

Young persons who are unemployed and are simultaneously seeking training, as a percentage of the youth labour force

Answer

Young persons who remain outside the labour force for the entire reference year, as a percentage of the total youth population

Answer

Young persons who are in education but not in any employment, as a percentage of the youth labour force

Question 10

With reference to the gender dimension of youth outside employment, education and training in India, consider the following:
1. In ILO analysis, the NEET share among young women was nearly five times that among young men, at 48.4% against 9.8%.
2. Young women accounted for around 95% of India's total youth population that was not in employment, education or training.
3. 'Attended domestic duties only' is a distinct activity status code in the PLFS schedule, and persons so classified are counted as employed unpaid helpers.
4. Among females outside the labour force in 2025, about 44.4% cited child care and personal commitments in home-making as the main reason.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 11

Consider the following statements regarding recent central initiatives on youth employment:
1. Under Part A of the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana a first-time employee registered with EPFO receives one month's EPF wage up to Rs 15,000 in two instalments, whereas under Part B the employer receives up to Rs 3,000 per month for two years for each additional employee.
2. Part B incentives are extended to the third and fourth years for the manufacturing sector, while the Part A benefit to the employee is confined to the first year of employment.
3. The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme, like the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, is administered by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 12

With reference to the institutional architecture governing India's official and labour statistics, consider the following:
1. The National Statistical Commission was set up through a Government resolution dated 1 June 2005, after the Cabinet accepted the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission.
2. The Rangarajan Commission that reviewed the country's statistical system was constituted in January 2000 and submitted its report in August 2001.
3. The Labour Bureau, which compiles the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers, is an attached office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
4. The National Statistical Commission comprises a part-time Chairperson, four part-time Members and an ex-officio Member.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2 only

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The fact is youth unemployment has a household cost

Q4. The National Statistical Office, under whose authority the Periodic Labour Force Survey is fielded, was created in May 2005 by merging the erstwhile National Sample Survey Organisation with which one of the following?

Q6. India's monthly all-India estimates of the labour force participation rate, worker population ratio and unemployment rate, released since January 2025, are compiled on the basis of which one of the following activity status approaches?

Q8. The projection that India's demographic window of opportunity runs roughly from 2011 to 2041, with the working-age population's annual increment slowing sharply after 2031, was set out in which one of the following official documents?

Q9. In labour force statistics, the NEET rate for a given youth age group is best described as which one of the following?