According to a government survey released on Tuesday, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 years and above in cities declined to 6.7 percent in October-December 2025 from 6.9 percent in the previous quarter. According to the three-monthly Labor Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the unemployment rate (UR) among people aged 15 years and above in rural areas declined from 4.4 per cent in the previous quarter (July-September 2025) to 4 per cent in October-December 2025, mainly due to decline in the unemployment rate among both rural men and women.
The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 6.7 percent compared to 6.9 percent in the previous quarter. The main reason for the low unemployment rate was the decline in self-employment of urban men, which declined from 6.2 percent during July-September 2025 to 5.9 percent in the quarter under review.
decline in self employment
Self-employment among persons aged 15 years and above declined in both rural and urban areas during October-December 2025. The proportion of self-employed persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas increased to 63.2 per cent during October-December 2025 from 62.8 per cent in the July-September quarter. In urban areas, the share of self-employed persons of the same age group stood at 39.7 percent during the quarter ending December 2025, while it was 39.3 percent in July-September 2025.
With regard to the concentration of rural workforce in the primary sector and urban workforce in the tertiary sector, the data showed that the situation remained the same in rural areas, with the majority of workers employed in the agricultural sector, which stood at 58.5 per cent during October-December 2025, up from 57.7 per cent in the previous quarter. In urban areas, the tertiary sector remained stable, with 61.9 percent workers employed during October-December 2025.
Number of jobs for 15 year olds and above
Based on the estimated population data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the NSO data has also estimated the total number of workers aged 15 years and above. During July-September 2025, an average of 56.2 crore people were employed in the country, including 39.6 crore men and 16.6 crore women. During October-December 2025, this figure increased to 57.4 crore, of which 40.2 crore were men and 17.2 crore were women. The quarterly estimates are based on information collected from a total of 5,61,108 individuals surveyed across the country.
When did the statistics start?
From January 2025, the survey methodology has been modified to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labor force indicators for both rural and urban India based on the Current Weekly Position (CWS) framework. Earlier, the PLFS quarterly bulletins released till December 2024 presented labor market indicators only for urban areas. The April–June 2025 bulletin was the first bulletin in the series to provide projections for both rural and urban areas, and the current bulletin for October–December 2025 is the third bulletin in the series. According to the latest bulletin, a marginal increase was observed in the overall labor force participation rate (LFPR).
increase in women
The LFPR among people aged 15 years and above increased to 55.8 percent during October-December 2025, compared to 55.1 percent in the previous quarter. In rural areas, LFPR increased to 58.4 per cent in the quarter ended December from 57.2 per cent during July-September 2025. The LFPR for the same age group in urban areas remained almost constant during the period April-June 2025 to October-December.
An increase was seen in the LFPR of women, which increased from 33.7 percent in the previous quarter to 34.9 percent in October-December. The main reason for this was the increase in female LFPR (International Living Percentage) in rural areas from 37.5 percent in July-September 2025 to 39.4 percent in October-December. However, the female labor population ratio (LFPR) in urban areas remained stable.
Improvement in two consecutive quarters
Moreover, the worker population ratio (WPR) for the age group 15 years and above increased to 53.1 per cent in October-December, compared to 52.2 per cent in July-September 2025. The main reason for this was the increase in workforce participation in rural areas. Women’s WPR has consistently improved over the last two quarters, reflecting a positive change in women’s participation in the workforce. According to the data, WPR increased to 53.1 percent in October-December, while it was 52.2 percent in the previous quarter.