Kolkata: The rate of unemployment among persons aged 15 years and above in the urban sector inched down to 6.7% in the December quarter, the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed. It was at 6.9% in the September quarter. In rural areas, the rate of unemployment in the same 15 age bracket also came own but by a higher extent. It declined from 4.4% in the September quarter to 4% December 2025 quarter.
Reports stated the lower rate of unemployment was triggered by a dip in urban male unemployment rate from 6.2% in September 2025 quarter to 5.9% in Dec quarter. Another piece of statistic revealed that the proportion of self-employed persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas rose to 63.2% in December 2025 quarter up from 62.8% in September quarter. In the urban areas the share of self-employed persons of the same age group was recorded at 39.7% in Dec quarter against 39.3% in September 2025 quarter.
Absolute numbers
Using projected population numbers of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the survey also mentioned absolute number of workers aged 15 years and above. In the Sept 2025 quarter, the number of employed persons stood at 56.2 crore, of whom 39.6 crore were males and 16.6 crore females. This fugure rose to 57.4 crore in the December 2025 quarter — 40.2 crore males and 17.2 crore females. Reports said the quarterly estimates are based on a total of 5,61,108 persons surveyed India.
Modest rise in Labour Force Participation Rate
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) witnessed a modest increase. The bulletin for June 2025 quarter was the first to provide estimates for both rural and urban areas. According to the current bulletin the overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) witnessed a modest increase.
Among those who are aged 15 years and more LFPR rose to 55.8% in December quarter against 55.1% in the September quarter. In the rural areas, LFPR rose to 58.4% in the Dec quarter from 57.2% noted in the September quarter. LFPR in the urban sector was more or less steady during the Dec period from June 2025 quarter.
Among women, LFPR also showed an upward trend. It rose to 34.9% in December against 33.7% in the Sept quarter. This was caused by a rise in female LFPR in rural areas where it crept up from 37.5% in September 2025 quarter to 39.4% in December quarter. But female LFPR in urban areas remained stable.
The Worker Population Ratio for those aged 15 years and above inched up to 53.1% in December quarter against 52.2% in September 2025 quarter. This was caused by a rise in the workforce participation in rural areas. Worker Population Ratio kept rising in both the Sept and December quarters. This mirrored a rise in participation of women in the workforce.