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Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India's first monthly job survey shows 5.1% unemployment rate in April 2025
AI generated image 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). Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
India releases first-ever monthly unemployment data; April jobless rate at 5.1%
(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In a landmark move, India on Thursday released its first monthly labour force and unemployment data, marking a shift toward real-time employment monitoring. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation ( MoSPI ), the country's unemployment rate (UR) stood at 5.1% in April 2025 for individuals aged 15 years and above, with a marginally higher rate for men (5.2%) than for women (5.0%).This new monthly data, collected under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) measure of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), is part of an effort to ensure faster and more granular insights into India's labour market. Until now, employment indicators were only available quarterly for urban areas and annually at the national level.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India releases first-ever monthly unemployment data; April jobless rate at 5.1%
In a landmark move, India on Thursday released its first monthly labour force and unemployment data, marking a shift toward real-time employment monitoring. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation ( MoSPI ), the country's unemployment rate (UR) stood at 5.1% in April 2025 for individuals aged 15 years and above, with a marginally higher rate for men (5.2%) than for women (5.0%). This new monthly data, collected under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) measure of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), is part of an effort to ensure faster and more granular insights into India's labour market. Until now, employment indicators were only available quarterly for urban areas and annually at the national level. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April was recorded at 55.6% nationwide. Rural India reported a stronger engagement in the labour force, with an LFPR of 58.0%, compared to 50.7% in urban regions. Live Events Among men, the LFPR remained high across both geographies—79.0% in rural areas and 75.3% in urban areas—while for women, it was markedly lower. The rural female LFPR was 38.2%, underlining the continued reliance on informal and unpaid work, especially in agricultural households. Meanwhile, the Worker Population Ratio (WPR)—a measure of the proportion of working-age people who are employed—stood at 52.8% for the country overall. The rural WPR was higher at 55.4%, while in urban areas it was 47.4%. Gender disparities were stark in this indicator as well. While rural women had a WPR of 36.8%, only 23.5% of urban women aged 15 and above were employed. The total female WPR across India was 32.5% in April. This data has been collected under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), and will now be published every month with a 45-day lag, bringing India closer to international standards in labour data reporting. The monthly release is expected to address longstanding gaps in employment. The official unemployment rate for April is reported to be lower than the 7.73% figure estimated by the private forecasting agency, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), reported Reuters. According to the official statistics, urban unemployment stands at 6.5%, while rural unemployment is recorded at 4.5%.
Economic Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
MoSPI announces changes to Periodic Labour Force Survey from 2025, to extend quarterly estimates to rural areas
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday announced that it will increase its publication of labour force data, Periodic Labour Force Survey, and release it on a monthly basis. The first monthly bulletin for April is scheduled for release in May, the ministry said, adding that the quarterly results of the survey will be published for rural, urban, and combined revamped PLFS sample design from January 2025 will result in the following: Availability of monthly estimates of key labour market indicators at the country level: The revamped PLFS sample design will enable generation of the monthly estimates of key labour market indicators viz. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach. The monthly estimates will help in timely policy interventions. The first monthly bulletin of PLFS for the month April, 2025 is scheduled to be released in May, 2025. Extending quarterly estimates to rural areas: At present PLFS provides quarterly labour market indicators for the urban areas only. With the updation in the PLFS sample design quarterly estimates of employment unemployment indicators will be available for both rural and urban areas and hence for the entire country. The first quarterly bulletin of PLFS covering both rural and urban areas for the quarter April-June, 2025 is slated to be released in August 2025. Moving to the approach of calendar year reporting: From the year 2025, the annual PLFS results will be brought out based on the calendar year i.e. survey period of January – December of a specific year (e.g. January 2025 – December 2025). This change in disseminating the PLFS annual results and unit level data will facilitate comprehensive analysis of labour market performance through review of key employment unemployment indicators and also assist in timely updation of India's labour market statistics in the databases maintained by the international agencies. The sampling methodology encompassing various aspects of the PLFS sampling design has been revamped to realise the objective of releasing the high frequency labour force indicators from PLFS. Salient aspects of the revamped sample design are mentioned below.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Centre revamps PLFS, includes rural jobs data
The Union Government has decided to revamp the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), started in 2017, to include employment and unemployment data from rural areas too. The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said on Wednesday that the coverage of the PLFS will now be enhanced and the sampling design revamp will address the requirement of high frequency labour market indicators. MoSPI added that the revamped PLFS will estimate key employment and unemployment indicators such as Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, Unemployment Rate on a monthly basis for rural and urban areas at all-India level in the Current Weekly Status (CWS). These indicators, for urban areas alone, have been released quarterly. Going forward, the PLFS coverage will be extended to rural areas producing quarterly estimates at the country level and for major States in the CWS. 'It will also estimate important employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS in rural and urban areas annually,' the Ministry said. Usual Status (ps+ss) and CWS refers to frameworks to determine activity status of person surveyed based on reference periods of one year and last seven days preceding the date of survey, respectively. The revamped PLFS sample design was initiated from from January, 2025 and the first monthly bulletin of PLFS for April, 2025 is scheduled to be released this month. 'The first quarterly bulletin of PLFS covering both rural and urban areas for April-June, 2025 is slated to be released in August, 2025,' the Ministry said. In the revamped PLFS sample, a sample size of 22,692 First Stage Units (FSUs) will be surveyed (12,504 FSUs in rural areas and 10,188 in urban areas) every year of the two-year panel with first visit schedule compared with 12,800 FSUs surveyed in PLFS till December, 2024. '12 households will be surveyed from each of the selected FSUs, which implies an overall sample size of around 2,72,304 households. This marks a 2.65 time increase in sample households to be covered in PLFS compared with the number of sample households covered up to December, 2024 (which was around 1,02,400). The enhanced sample size is expected to provide reliable estimates of labour market indicators with improved precision,' MoSPI said.
