India’s unemployment dips to 5.2% in July, rural India drives jobs growth: Govt survey

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin for April–June 2025 and the Monthly Bulletin for July 2025, highlighting key employment trends across rural and urban India.

According to the Quarterly Bulletin, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55% during April–June 2025. Rural LFPR was higher at 57.1%, compared to 50.6% in urban areas.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) was recorded at 52% overall, with 54.4% in rural areas and 47.1% in urban areas. Women’s participation continued to lag, with female WPR at 31.6%, compared to 73.1% among men.

The Unemployment Rate (UR) was reported at 5.4% during the April–June quarter, with rural areas showing a lower rate (4.8%) than urban centres (6.8%).

By employment type, self-employment dominated in rural India (55.3% of men and 71.6% of women), while regular wage and salaried jobs were more prevalent in urban areas (47.5% of men and 55.1% of women). Sector-wise, agriculture remained the largest employer in rural regions, while the services sector led urban employment.

The Monthly PLFS Bulletin for July 2025 showed a marginal improvement in labour indicators. LFPR stood at 54.9%, slightly higher than June’s 54.2%. The unemployment rate declined to 5.2% in July, down from 5.6% in June.

MoSPI noted that the revamped PLFS methodology, introduced in January 2025, now provides monthly, quarterly, and annual estimates for both rural and urban India. For the April–June quarter, over 1.34 lakh households and 5.7 lakh individuals were surveyed across the country.

The ministry emphasised that these high-frequency labour indicators would help policymakers track employment trends more closely and design targeted interventions for inclusive growth.