Labour force participation rate rises for third month, unemployment rate edges up to 5.2%

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation announced latest The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data today. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increasing trend continues in India as the overall LFPR among persons of age 15 years and above rose for the third month in a row as it climbed up from 54.2% in June 2025 to 55.3% in September 2025. The LFPR in rural areas has also increased steadily from 56.1% observed in June 2025 to 57.4% in September 2025. The LFPR in urban areas has remained unchanged at 50.9% compared to August 2025 for persons of age 15 years and above.

The overall LFPR among female of age 15 years and above in September 2025 was 34.1% and it was the highest level of female LFPR observed since May 2025. This was contributed by the increase in female LFPR in rural areas which improved for the third successive month from 35.2% in June 2025 to 37.9% in September 2025. Overall female LFPR has increased successively for three months in a row from 32.0% in June 2025 to 34.1% in September 2025.

The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in September 2025 was 52.4%, the highest level recorded since May 2025. Rise in the female workforce especially in rural areas has brought about this increase. Overall WPR among female of age 15 years and above has steadily increased for the third month in a row from 30.2% in June 2025 to 32.3% in September 2025.

However, overall Unemployment Rate (UR) continues to rises. The UR among persons of age 15 years and above climbed up marginally to 5.2% in September 2025 from 5.1% recorded in August 2025 after declining during the past two successive months. Rise in UR in rural areas (from 4.3% in August 2025 to 4.6% in September 2025) and marginal increase in UR in urban areas (from 6.7% in August 2025 to 6.8% in September 2025) among persons of age 15 years and above contributed to this increase in overall UR.

UR among urban female of age 15 years and above increased to 9.3% in September 2025 from 8.9% observed during August 2025. This rise in UR among rural female has also contributed to the rise in overall female UR from 5.2% in August 2025 to 5.5% recorded in September. Male UR has also seen moderate increase across both rural (from 4.5% in August 2025 to 4.7% in September 2025) and urban areas (from 5.9% in August 2025 to 6.0% in September 2025) during September 2025 after declining during August 2025.

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