India's first monthly job survey shows 5.1% unemployment rate in April 2025
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India's unemployment rate stood at 5.1 per cent in April 2025, according to the country's first-ever monthly labour force data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday.
The release marked a significant shift in employment monitoring, as job data until now had been published only on quarterly and annual bases.
The ministry launched the monthly
Periodic Labour Force Survey
(PLFS) to offer real-time insights into the proportion of people unemployed among those eligible to work. The data, based on the Current Weekly Status (CWS)—which uses the last seven days as the reference period—showed that the joblessness rate in April was 5.1 per cent for persons of all ages.
The unemployment rate for men was slightly higher at 5.2 per cent, compared to 5 per cent among women, news agency PTI reported.
Among the youth aged 15 to 29 years, the overall unemployment rate was significantly higher at 13.8 per cent. Urban areas reported a higher joblessness rate of 17.2 per cent, while rural unemployment was recorded at 12.3 per cent.
Within the 15–29 age group, women faced a higher unemployment burden.
The national unemployment rate for young women stood at 14.4 per cent, with a stark urban-rural divide—23.7 per cent in cities and 10.7 per cent in villages. Among men in the same age category, joblessness was recorded at 13.6 per cent nationally, 15 per cent in urban areas, and 13 per cent in rural regions.
The
Labour Force Participation Rate
(LFPR) among individuals aged 15 years and above stood at 55.6 per cent in April 2025. This figure was higher in rural regions (58 per cent) compared to urban areas (50.7 per cent).
For males aged 15 and above, the LFPR was 79 per cent in rural areas and 75.3 per cent in urban centres. Among females in the same age group, participation was significantly lower, at 38.2 per cent in rural India.
LFPR indicates the percentage of the population that is either working, seeking work, or available for work.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR)—the proportion of employed persons in the total population—was 52.8 per cent at the national level in April.
In rural areas, WPR was 55.4 per cent, while it was 47.4 per cent in urban regions.
For females aged 15 and above, the WPR stood at 36.8 per cent in rural areas and 23.5 per cent in urban areas. The overall female WPR across the country was 32.5 per cent.
To improve the granularity and frequency of labour market indicators, the PLFS methodology was revamped in January 2025. In April alone, the survey covered 7,511 first-stage sampling units across the country. A total of 89,434 households were surveyed—49,323 in rural areas and 40,111 in urban areas—capturing responses from 3,80,838 individuals (2,17,483 rural and 1,63,355 urban).
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