India’s job market is showing positive signs! The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) reveals that the overall unemployment rate dropped to 5.1% in August 2025. This marks the second straight month of decline, down from 5.6% in June and 5.2% in July.
For men aged 15 and above, the unemployment rate hit a low of 5.0% in August—the best since April 2025. Urban men saw their rate fall from 6.6% in July to 5.9%, while rural men enjoyed a drop to 4.5%. Rural areas, in particular, celebrated three months of steady improvement, with the unemployment rate sliding from 5.1% in May to 4.3% in August. Overall, both rural and urban areas combined stood at 5.1%.
Women are stepping up too! The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for women climbed to 32.0% in August, up from 30.2% in June. In rural areas, it jumped from 33.6% to 35.9%, and in urban zones, it rose from 22.9% to 23.8%. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for women also improved, moving from 32.0% in June to 33.7% in August. Rural women led the way with a rise from 35.2% to 37.4%, while urban women saw it go from 25.2% to 26.1%.
On the bigger picture, the national WPR increased to 52.2% in August from 51.2% in June, showing more people are finding work. The overall LFPR for those 15 and older also edged up from 54.2% to 55%.
This fresh data comes from the PLFS, India’s key source for tracking employment trends. Conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI, the survey now delivers monthly updates using a tweaked method since January 2025. It focuses on indicators like LFPR, WPR, and unemployment rate based on the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.
The August bulletin draws from responses by 376,839 people—215,895 from rural areas and 160,944 from urban ones. It’s the fifth in the series, following releases for April to July 2025. These numbers paint an encouraging story for India’s labour market recovery.
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