Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) - Quarterly | Current Affairs

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Economy

Why in news?

According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), India’s job market showed tentative signs of revival in the July–September quarter of 2025.

PLFS – It is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment-unemployment conditions of the population.
Conducted by – Labour Bureau
Released by – Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Indicators – Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) – for persons aged 15 years and above.

Key findings

Rural Revival – Decline in unemployment and rise in self-employment indicating strong demand for agricultural and informal sector jobs.
Urban Strain – Slight uptick in urban unemployment, especially among women, reflecting stress in formal job creation and industrial sectors.
Gender Gap – Female LFPR remains low, though rural women show higher participation than urban counterparts.
Sectoral Divide – Agriculture dominates rural employment; services dominate urban jobs—highlighting structural dualism.
Employment Composition
- Rural Areas - Dominated by self-employment, which rose to 62.8% (from 60.7%).
- Majority are engaged in agriculture sector accounting for 57.7% from 53.5% in the previous quarter (seasonal spike).
- Urban Areas - Dominated by regular wage/salaried jobs - rose marginally to 49.8% (from 49.4%).
- Tertiary sector remained dominant, engaging 62.0% of workers.

Indicator	Rural	Urban	Overall
Unemployment Rate (UR)	Declined to 4.4% (from 4.8%)	Increased from 6.1% to 6.2% (Male: 6.2%, Female: 9.0%)	Dropped to 5.2% (from 5.4%)
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)	Increased from 57.1% to 57.2%	Increased to 50.7% from 50.6%	Held steady at 55.1% (No significant change from 55.0%)
Female LFPR	Increased from 37.0% to 37.5%	Raised from 25.6% to 25.8%	Increased to 33.7% from 33.4%
Worker Population Ratio (WPR)	54.7%	47.2%	52.2%

References

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) - Quarterly