Jobless rate inched up to 5.2% in Sep, rural saw sharp rise: PLFS

Labour markets lost momentum in September as the unemployment rate rose marginally to 5.2 per cent from 5.1 per cent in August as the rural areas show a sharper rise in joblessness on account of the sowing season getting over. 

The headline unemployment rate for people of age 15 years and above in the current weekly status (CWS) terms for rural areas rose to 4.6 per cent in September from 4.3 per cent in August — the highest since June. For urban areas, it went marginally up to 6.8 per cent during the month from 6.7 per cent in August, according to the monthly periodic labour force survey (PLFS) data, released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Wednesday.

 

 

The data further showed that while the unemployment rate among men rose to 5.1 per cent from 5 per cent, the jobless rate among women rose a tad higher to 5.5 per cent from 5.2 per cent in the corresponding time period.

 

In CWS, the activity status is determined on the reference period over the past seven days preceding the date of the survey. Under this, a person is considered as unemployed in a week if they did not work even for one hour on any day during the reference week but sought or were available for work at least for one hour on any day during the reference week.

 

Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) — which is a measure of the number of people either working or looking for work — rose to 55.3 per cent in September from 55 per cent in August. In rural areas, the figure rose to 57.4 per cent from 57 per cent while in urban areas, it remained unchanged at 50.9 per cent.

 

For men, the LFPR rose to 77.1 per cent in September from 77 per cent in August. And, for women, it went up to 34.1 per cent in September from 33.7 per cent in August.

 

Among the youth (15-29 age group) as well, the jobless rate rose to 15 per cent from 14.6 per cent. While the unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 17.8 per cent, it rose to 13.9 per cent from 13.5 per cent for men. These figures are important because people belonging to this age group are usually first-timers in the labour market and this metric reflects its robustness.

 

The sampling methodology of PLFS has been revamped by the NSO from January 2025 in a bid to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators on a monthly basis for rural and urban areas in the CWS method at all-India level.

 

The present monthly bulletin is the sixth in the series for the month of September 2025.