Source: TH
Context:
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July-September 2025 highlights trends in employment, unemployment, and sectoral distribution across rural and urban India.
Key Highlights:
- Rural Unemployment
- Decline: Rural unemployment among persons aged 15+ fell from 4.8% in April-June 2025 to 4.4% in July-September 2025.
- Urban Unemployment
- Slight Increase: Urban unemployment edged up slightly, with male unemployment rising from 6.1% to 6.2% and female unemployment from 8.9% to 9.0% during the same period.
- Overall Unemployment
- Marginal Drop: The total unemployment rate for persons aged 15+ decreased from 5.4% to 5.2%.
- Rural Employment
- Self-Employment Dominance: Rural self-employment rose to 62.8% from 60.7%, with the majority engaged in agriculture (57.7%, up from 53.5%) due to seasonal operations.
- Urban Employment
- Wage/Salaried Jobs: Urban employment remains dominated by regular wage/salaried jobs, slightly increasing to 49.8% from 49.4%. The tertiary sector employs 62% of urban workers.
- Labour Force Participation
- Female Participation Increase: Overall female LFPR rose to 33.7% from 33.4%, driven by rural female LFPR increasing to 37.5% from 37%.
- Total Workforce
- Numbers: About 56.2 crore persons aged 15+ were employed in July-September 2025, including 39.6 crore males and 16.6 crore females.
