New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate declined to 5.2% in the July–September 2025 quarter, down from 5.4% in the previous quarter, signaling a gradual improvement in labour market conditions, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The survey also showed a steady rise in overall labour participation. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above increased marginally to 55.1%, while the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) improved to 52.2% from 52.0% in April–June 2025.
Female participation in the labour force rose to 33.7% from 33.4%, reflecting sustained growth in women’s engagement across both rural and urban sectors. The rural unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, even as the urban rate edged slightly higher to 6.2%.
Rural self-employment climbed sharply to 62.8% from 60.7%, driven by kharif-season agricultural activity, while the share of urban regular wage earners improved modestly to 49.8%. The agriculture sector’s rural workforce share increased to 57.7%, and the urban tertiary sector continued to dominate with 62.0% of workers.
The PLFS bulletin, covering 5.64 lakh individuals nationwide, marks the second quarterly release using the revamped methodology introduced in January 2025 to capture both rural and urban labour indicators. Overall, India’s employed population aged 15 years and above stood at 56.2 crore during the quarter — 39.6 crore men and 16.6 crore women.
