Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2025

Why in News?

India’s unemployment rate declined to 6.5% in 2025 from 7.0% a year earlier according to the PLFS report 2025 released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

• Aim- To measure quarterly labour market indicators (LFPR, WPR, Unemployment Rate) for urban areas and annually for the whole country, highlighting trends like rising female participation.
• Scope - Focuses on persons aged 15 and above, tracking both usual status (365 days) and CWS (7 days).
• Launched by - The National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2017.
• Released by - The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Key Indicators
  • Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) - Percentage of the population working or seeking work.
  • Worker Population Ratio (WPR) - Percentage of the population employed.
  • Unemployment Rate (UR) - Percentage of the labour force that is unemployed.
  • Usual Activity Status – It identifies long-term employment patterns based on a 365-day reference period
  • Current Weekly Status - Last 7 days preceding the survey date.
• National Key Findings - The report shows a resilient labor market with stable participation and improving employment quality.
• Unemployment Rate (UR) - The overall rate stood at 3.1%.
• Educated Persons - Unemployment among those with secondary education or above declined to 6.5% from 7.0% in 2024.
• Urban Females - The UR for women in urban areas improved to 6.4%.
• Youth (15–29) - Joblessness in this demographic dropped to 9.9% from 10.3%.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) - Remained stable at 59.3%.
  • Male LFPR - 79.1%
  • Female LFPR - 40.0%
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) - Maintained a steady level of 57.4%.
• Structural Shifts in Employment - It highlight a clear transition toward more formal and non-agricultural sectors.
• Regular Wage Jobs - Salaried employment increased to 23.6% (up from 22.4%), while self-employment declined to 56.2%.
• Sectoral Recomposition
  • Agriculture - Its share of employment fell from 44.8% to 43.0%.
  • Manufacturing - Participation improved to 12.1%.
  • Services - Other services saw an increase in worker share to 13.1%.
  • Wage Growth - Female nominal wages grew notably across sectors, with the highest growth of 8.8% observed among the self-employed.
• Methodological Changes in 2025 - From January 2025, MoSPI revamped the PLFS design to provide more frequent insights.
• Monthly Bulletins - Now provide high-frequency indicators (LFPR, WPR, UR) at the national level.
• Quarterly Updates - Coverage was extended to include rural areas, which were previously only covered annually.
• Enhanced Sample - The sample size was increased approximately 2.65 times, now covering around 2.72 lakh households.

Reference

Economic Times | PLFS