Unemployment among rural women at one-year high in June: Experts

Weak monsoon and delayed kharif sowing may have pushed rural women's unemployment to a one-year high in June despite higher labour force participation

A feeble start to the monsoon and delayed crop sowing may have pushed unemployment among rural Indian women to at least a one-year high in June, according to experts. 

 

The female unemployment rate for those aged 15 and above rose to 5.9 per cent in June from 5.6 per cent a year ago. This is the highest rate seen in the 13 months tracked on a monthly basis by the government’s revamped Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). The strain was sharpest in the countryside, where rural female unemployment climbed to 5 per cent in June from 4.4 per cent during the same month a year ago. 

 

Additionally, over the same year, rural female labour force participation rate (LFPR) rose 1.4 percentage points to 36.6 per cent from 35.2 per cent in June 2025.

 

India's Southwest Monsoon got off to one of its weakest starts in several years. All-India rainfall was about 42 per cent below the long-period average for the first three weeks of June, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). With scarce rains, kharif sowing fell well behind with the area planted being as of July 10 being about 16 per cent lower than a year earlier, before a recovery in rains narrowed the gap to about 6.04 per cent by July 17, according to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare data. 

 

El Niño is likely to have deepened rural distress, with agricultural GDP growth likely to have slowed in June, said Madhavankutty G, chief economist, Canara Bank. 

 

“Even non-agricultural jobs in rural areas would have slowed down due to, say, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment facing subdued profits,” he added. 

 

According to some economists, the rise in the women’s unemployment rate could also be attributed to arithmetic: When more women enter the labour force to seek work, the rate can increase if job creation does not keep pace. The rate rose partly because more women were looking for work and, hence, were counted as part of the labour force, according to Emkay Global Financial Services. 

 

Another factor could be the weak monsoon, leading to poor sowing progress in June, which may have led to lower temporary agricultural work just as more women sought jobs, the brokerage added.

 

The summer heat may have compounded the squeeze, stalling construction and leaving women without site work, according to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.

 

However, economists differed on the rural jobs scheme. While Madhavankutty said heavier burden on states under the revised Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) may have contributed to higher women’s joblessness, Sabnavis argued this was unlikely since the new scheme came into effect on July 1, though some states may have slowed project allocations ahead of the switch.

 

“Urban female unemployment is also high this time due to overall lower job creation, amid margin pressures faced by corporates on account of inflation arising from geopolitical tensions,” Madhavankutty said.

 

The urban female unemployment stood at 8.4 per cent in June, down from 9.1 per cent a year earlier, but still far above the rural rate.