The country has received big news on the employment front. The unemployment rate in the country declined to 5.2 percent in July while it was 5.6 percent in June. These figures have come out from the periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. The unemployment rate was also 5.6 percent in May too. According to the latest data collected in the current weekly status (CWS), unemployment rate for people of all age groups during July was 5.2 percent. The unemployment rate in men was slightly higher 5.3 percent, while in women it was 5.1 percent. In July, the unemployment rate for all age groups in urban areas increased to 7.2 percent, which was 7.1 percent in June. At the same time, the unemployment rate for all age groups in rural areas was reduced to 4.4 percent, which was 4.9 percent in June.
According to the survey, unemployment among the youth in the age group of 15 to 29 declined to 14.9 percent in July, which was 15.3 percent in June 2025. However, the unemployment rate for this age group in urban areas increased to 19 percent in July, which was 18.8 percent last month. For the same age group (15-29 years) in rural areas, this rate declined to 13 percent in July, which was 13.8 percent last month. The CWS explains the status of the prescribed activity based on the reference period of seven days before the date of the survey. The data has also shown that the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in CWS among all age groups increased to 41.4 percent in July 2025, compared to 41 percent in June 2025. The labor force participation rate in CWS of all age groups in rural areas was 42 percent while it was 41.5 percent a month ago. At the same time, in urban areas it was 40.1 percent in July, which was 39.8 percent in June.
In rural areas, the labor population ratio (WPR), who defined the ratio of persons working in the total population in rural areas during July, was 54.4 percent. It was 53.3 percent in June last month. The labor population ratio in urban areas for this age group was 47 percent in July. Labor population ratio at the country level was 52 percent while it was 51.2 percent during June. The sample method of PLFS with a broad scope has been new since January 2025, keeping in mind the need for high -frequency labor force indicators. At the all-India level, 7,519 units were surveyed as a sample in the first-step in July. The number of families in the survey was 89,505 (49,355 in rural areas and 40,150 in urban areas) while the number of persons conducted was 3,79,222 (2,16,832 in rural areas and 1,62,390 in urban areas).
