State Level workshop on periodic labour force survey Organized
The Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Himachal Pradesh organized a two-day State Level Workshop for field functionaries on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) at Shimla on 12th March, 2026.
The objective of the workshop is to strengthen the implementation of the Periodic Labour Force Survey in the State and to generate reliable district-level annual/quarterly estimates of key labour market indicators such as Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR). These estimates will be generated by combining the survey samples collected by the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the State Department of Economics and Statistics.
PLFS launched in April, 2017 is the primary national survey for generating statistics related to employment and unemployment. The survey provides periodic estimates of labour force participation, employment structure, unemployment levels and other labour market indicators, which are essential for planning, policy formulation and monitoring of development programmes.
Under the survey programme, data will be collected from around 180 rural blocks and 120 urban blocks in the State sample, along with a similar number of blocks under the Central sample. The training sessions for field investigators were conducted by officers of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.
The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Vinod Rana, Economic Adviser, who highlighted that statistics plays a crucial role in evidence-based governance and effective development planning. He emphasized that accurate and reliable data collection is the foundation for generating meaningful labour market indicators. He also stressed the importance of proper field techniques, careful data collection and the use of Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology for timely and efficient compilation of survey results.
The Economic Adviser appealed to the people and public representatives of Himachal Pradesh to extend full cooperation to the field investigators during the survey. He urged households to provide correct and authentic information whenever survey officials visit them, as the quality of data collected will play a crucial role in generating reliable labour market statistics. Such evidence-based data will support the formulation of effective policies and programmes for employment generation and overall socio-economic development of the State.
