UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Press Note on Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin July-September 2026

Q1. In a district, the working-age population and the number of employed persons remain unchanged over a year, but a group of unemployed persons, discouraged by repeated failure, stop seeking or being available for work. Under the PLFS definitions, which one of the following correctly describes the resulting change?

  • A. LFPR is unchanged, WPR is unchanged and the unemployment rate falls
  • B. LFPR falls, WPR falls and the unemployment rate is unchanged
  • C. LFPR is unchanged, WPR falls and the unemployment rate rises
  • D. LFPR falls, WPR is unchanged and the unemployment rate falls

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Labour force estimates based on Current Weekly Status are better suited than those based on usual status to reveal seasonal swings in employment within a year.
  2. Current Weekly Status determines a person's activity status with reference to the seven days preceding the date of survey.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the rotational panel sample design adopted in the Periodic Labour Force Survey from January 2025, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The same households are interviewed in more than one survey period, so that a part of the sample overlaps between successive periods.
  2. The overlap in the sample allows changes between consecutive periods to be estimated more precisely than when an entirely fresh sample is drawn each period.
  3. Because selected households are re-visited, the design eliminates the problem of households dropping out of the survey over successive visits.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Until December 2024, the quarterly bulletins of the Periodic Labour Force Survey were confined to urban areas, whereas since 2025 both monthly and quarterly estimates have been released for rural as well as urban India. Which one of the following changes made this possible?

  • A. Adoption of a rotational panel sample design for the full household sample
  • B. Conversion of survey ratios into headcounts using population projections
  • C. Merger of the survey with the annual survey of unincorporated enterprises
  • D. Replacement of usual status with current weekly status as the reference

Q5. Under the status-in-employment classification used in the Periodic Labour Force Survey, consider the following workers: Which of the above would be classified as self-employed?

  1. A woman running a tailoring unit from her home without hiring anyone
  2. A family member helping in the household's grocery shop without receiving any wage
  3. A construction worker engaged and paid on a daily basis by a contractor
  4. A person running a furniture workshop who employs hired workers
  • A. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q6. Consider the following assertion: A decline in the share of casual labour in the workforce is generally read as an improvement in the quality of employment. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Casual labourers are engaged on a daily or periodic basis without a regular contract, making their earnings and continuity of work the least assured among the three status categories.
  2. Every regular wage/salaried employee in India is entitled to social security benefits such as provident fund and paid leave.
  3. The share of casual labour can fall even when the absolute number of casual labourers rises, if other categories of employment grow faster.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q7. With reference to disguised unemployment, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Withdrawing the disguisedly unemployed from a family farm would leave its total output broadly unchanged.
  2. Persons in disguised unemployment are counted as unemployed in the PLFS because their work adds little or nothing to output.
  3. Unlike disguised unemployment, seasonal unemployment refers to workers being without work during part of the year, such as the agricultural off-season.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. More than half of India's rural workers are still engaged in agriculture. Suppose a part of the farm workforce whose marginal product is close to zero moves into newly created manufacturing jobs. Which one of the following is the most likely outcome?

  • A. Farm output falls by the amount these workers used to produce
  • B. Total output rises while farm output remains broadly unchanged
  • C. Farm wages fall because labour on farms becomes relatively scarcer
  • D. Total output is unchanged because labour merely shifts between sectors