PLFS: unemployment rate eases to 5.1% in August 2025
India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above fell to 5.1% in August 2025 from 5.2% in July, according to the PLFS monthly bulletin released by MoSPI on 15 September 2025.
Summary
India's overall unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% in August 2025, from 5.2% in July and 5.6% in June, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on 15 September 2025. The male unemployment rate fell to 5.0%, its lowest since April 2025, helped by a fall in urban male unemployment from 6.6% to 5.9%. The female Worker Population Ratio rose to 32.0% and the female Labour Force Participation Rate to 33.7%. The overall Worker Population Ratio rose to 52.2%. The PLFS, conducted by the National Statistics Office, reports monthly estimates using the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, and the August bulletin was the fifth in the monthly series.
Key facts
- Unemployment rate (15+)
- 5.1% in Aug 2025 (5.2% Jul, 5.6% Jun)
- Male UR
- 5.0%, lowest since April 2025
- Female WPR / LFPR
- 32.0% / 33.7%
- Overall WPR
- 52.2%
- Approach
- Current Weekly Status (CWS)
- Series
- Fifth monthly bulletin; survey by NSO, MoSPI
Practice MCQs 2 questions
According to the PLFS monthly bulletin, what was India's overall unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in August 2025?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 5.1%
The overall unemployment rate declined for the second consecutive month, from 5.6% in June and 5.2% in July to 5.1% in August 2025.
The monthly estimates of the Periodic Labour Force Survey are based on which approach?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Current Weekly Status
The PLFS monthly bulletins present LFPR, WPR and unemployment rate estimates at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.