Unemployment Declines, Female Workforce Rises: Labour Force Survey Shows Steady Labour Market Gains

Ziraat Times News Desk

New Delhi: The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), indicates a continued improvement in India’s labour market during July–September 2025, with higher female participation and lower unemployment rates driving the trend.

According to the report, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons aged 15 years and above increased marginally to 55.1%, up from 55.0% in the previous quarter (April–June 2025). The rise was supported by gains in both rural and urban areas, where LFPR edged up to 57.2% and 50.7%, respectively.

Female participation in the labour force continued its upward momentum, improving to 33.7% in July–September 2025 from 33.4% in April–June 2025. The increase was more pronounced in rural areas, where women’s participation rose from 37.0% to 37.5%, underscoring a steady trend of enhanced female engagement in economic activity.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) also showed a marginal rise, reaching 52.2% in the July–September 2025 quarter compared to 52.0% in the previous quarter, with female WPR climbing to 32.0% from 31.6%.

In a positive sign for the overall economy, the Unemployment Rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.2%, down from 5.4% recorded in April–June 2025. Rural unemployment dropped more sharply—from 4.8% to 4.4%—while urban unemployment remained almost stable, increasing slightly from 6.1% to 6.2%.

The report highlights a seasonal increase in rural employment in agriculture, with the sector’s share rising to 57.7% during the Kharif season, compared to 53.5% in the previous quarter. In urban areas, the tertiary sector remained dominant, employing 62% of workers.

Employment patterns reflected the ongoing structural shift, with self-employment in rural areas increasing from 60.7% to 62.8%, and regular wage/salaried jobs in urban areas improving modestly to 49.8%, from 49.4% in the previous quarter.

Based on population projections from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the survey estimates that 56.2 crore people aged 15 years and above were employed across India during the quarter—39.6 crore men and 16.6 crore women.

This is the second quarterly bulletin to present combined rural and urban estimates after the survey’s methodology was revamped in January 2025 to provide high-frequency labour market data under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework. The current bulletin draws from responses of 5.64 lakh individuals, including 3.22 lakh from rural and 2.41 lakh from urban areas.