According to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), this marks the second consecutive month of decline from 5.6% in June and 5.2% in July.
The monthly bulletin noted that unemployment Rate (UR) among male declined to 5-month low level of 5.0% in August 2025. The drop was driven by easing urban male unemployment, which fell from 6.6% in July to 5.9% in August. Rural male unemployment also declined to 4.5%, the lowest in five months.
The survey further showed that the overall rural unemployment rate has declined successively for three months in a row from 5.1% in May 2025 to 4.3% in August 2025.
On the participation of women in the workforce, the bulletin reported a steady rise. “Rise in female workforce for two months in a row; The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among female has witnessed rise for two months in a row to 32.0% in August 2025 from 30.2% recorded in June 2025,” it said.
The gains were visible across geographies. In rural areas, the female WPR increased from 33.6% in June to 35.9% in August, while in urban areas it went up from 22.9% to 23.8% over the same period. The overall WPR improved to 52.2% in August compared to 51.2% in June.Female labour force participation also edged higher. “Female LFPR increased for the second successive month across rural and urban areas,” the bulletin stated, noting a rise from 32% in June to 33.7% in August. Rural female LFPR went up from 35.2% to 37.4%, and urban female LFPR from 25.2% to 26.1%.The overall labour force participation rate in the survey rose to 55% in August from 54.2% in June.
According to MoSPI, the estimates are based on a survey of 3,76,839 persons in rural areas and 2,15,895 in urban areas, covering a total of 5,92,734 individuals.
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