New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- India's overall unemployment rate (persons of 15 years and above) declined to 5.1% in August 2025, showing signs of recovery, government data showed on Monday. 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.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.