Labour force participation rate holds steady, unemployment rate eases to 5.2%

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate or LFPR among persons of age 15 years and above held steady at 55.1% during July-September 2025, compared to 55.0% in the previous quarter. A slight uptick was observed in both rural and urban areas — the rural LFPR inched up from 57.1% to 57.2%, while the urban LFPR also registered a modest rise over the same period from 50.6% to 50.7%.

The overall LFPR among female of age 15 years and above increased to 33.7% in July-September, 2025 from 33.4% in the previous quarter, reflecting a continued but modest upward movement in women’s engagement with the labour market. This improvement was driven largely by the increase in female LFPR in rural areas from 37.0% in the quarter April - June 2025 to 37.5% in July - September 2025.

The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose marginally to 52.2% in July–September 2025 as compared to 52.0% in April–June 2025. This increase was largely driven by the increased participation of women, particularly in rural areas. The overall WPR for females aged 15 years and above continued to improve during the quarter, reflecting a positive shift in women’s engagement in the workforce.

The UR or Unemployment Rate among persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas declined to 4.4% in July–September 2025 from 4.8% in the previous quarter, driven by reductions among both rural male and female.

In contrast, urban UR edged up slightly, with rates increasing from 6.1% to 6.2% for male and from 8.9% to 9.0% for female during the same period. The UR among persons aged 15 years and above dropped to 5.2% in July–September, 2025 from 5.4% in the previous quarter.

Self-employed persons of age 15 years and above in rural areas increased to 62.8% during July- September, 2025, up from 60.7% recorded in the previous quarter April-June, 2025. In urban areas, the share of regular wage/ salaried employment also showed marginal improvement, rising to 49.8% in July-September, 2025 from 49.4% in April-June, 2025.

Using the projected population figures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the absolute number of workers aged 15 years and above has been estimated. On average, 56.2 crore persons (aged 15 years and above) were employed in the country during the quarter of July–September 2025, of which 39.6 crore were male and 16.6 crore were female.

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