UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — MONTHLY BULLETIN OF PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (PLFS)

Q1. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), including its Monthly Bulletin, is conducted by which one of the following as the nodal survey agency?

• A. National Statistical Office (NSO)
• B. Labour Bureau
• C. Directorate General of Employment (DGE)
• D. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)

Q2. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was launched in 2017 on the recommendation of which one of the following committees?

• A. Amitabh Kundu Committee
• B. Arvind Panagariya Task Force on Employment Data
• C. Suresh Tendulkar Committee
• D. C. Rangarajan Committee

Q3. PLFS was launched in April 2017 and its very first Annual Report (July 2017 – June 2018) was released in May 2019. Approximately how many years elapsed between the survey's launch and the release of this first Annual Report?

• A. About 2 years
• B. About 4 years
• C. Less than 1 year
• D. About 5 years

Q4. With reference to the NSSO quinquennial Employment–Unemployment Surveys (EUS) that preceded PLFS, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The quinquennial EUS series began with the NSS 27th round in 1972-73.
2. The last quinquennial EUS was the 66th round conducted in 2011-12.
3. PLFS, launched in 2017, replaced the quinquennial EUS.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Which one of the following was the last quinquennial NSSO Employment–Unemployment Survey round ever conducted before it was replaced by PLFS?

• A. 68th round (2011-12)
• B. 66th round (2009-10)
• C. 61st round (2004-05)
• D. 55th round (1999-2000)

Q6. The LFPR, WPR and Unemployment Rate reported in the PLFS Monthly Bulletin are compiled and released under which one of the following ministries?

• A. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
• B. Ministry of Labour and Employment
• C. Ministry of Finance
• D. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Q7. The LFPR, WPR and Unemployment Rate published in the PLFS Monthly Bulletin are estimated for persons aged 15 years and above under which one of the following activity-status approaches?

• A. Current Weekly Status (7-day reference period)
• B. Usual Status (365-day reference period)
• C. Current Daily Status (each half-day of the week)
• D. Principal Usual Status only

Q8. The revamped PLFS (from January 2025) is disseminated by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The NSO was itself constituted by merging which two of the following organisations?

• A. Central Statistics Office (CSO) and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)
• B. Labour Bureau and Directorate General of Employment & Training
• C. NITI Aayog and the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
• D. National Statistical Commission and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)

Q9. The PLFS Monthly Bulletin, first released for April 2025, provides high-frequency estimates for which one of the following coverages?

• A. Both rural and urban areas at the all-India level under CWS
• B. Urban areas only at the all-India level under CWS
• C. Rural areas only under Usual Status
• D. State-wise rural and urban areas under Usual Status

Q10. In the March 2026 PLFS Monthly Bulletin, which one of the following indicators recorded the highest value at the all-India level (persons aged 15 years and above)?

• A. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)
• B. Worker Population Ratio (WPR)
• C. Female LFPR
• D. Unemployment Rate (UR)

Q11. Consider the following pairings of PLFS outputs with their coverage: Which of the above pairings is/are NOT correctly matched?

1. Pre-2025 Quarterly Bulletin — urban areas only, Current Weekly Status
2. Annual Report — both rural and urban areas, Usual Status and Current Weekly Status
3. Monthly Bulletin (from 2025) — both rural and urban areas, Current Weekly Status
4. Pre-2025 Quarterly Bulletin — rural areas only, Usual Status

• A. 4 only
• B. 1 and 4
• C. 2 and 3
• D. 3 only