Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report, 2025:
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report for 2025.
- The PLFS was launched by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2017 to estimate key employment and unemployment indicators. It provides data in two formats: Usual Status (ps+ss), which maps activity over the preceding 365 days, and Current Weekly Status (CWS), which maps the preceding 7 days.
PLFS Annual Report 2025:
- Stable Participation: The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for ages 15+ remained stable at 59.3%, with male participation at 79.1% and female at 40.0%.
- Steady Employment: The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) stood at 57.4%. Notably, rural female WPR held steady at 44.9%, sustaining gains made since 2022.
- Declining Unemployment: The overall Unemployment Rate (UR) was 3.1%. Youth unemployment (ages 15-29) saw a drop to 9.9% from 10.3% in the previous year.
- Shift to Regular Wage: There is a positive shift in employment quality, with regular wage/salaried employees increasing to 23.6%, while self-employment declined to 56.2%.
- Sectoral Recomposition: Agriculture’s share of employment decreased from 44.8% to 43.0%, while manufacturing saw an improvement to 12.1%.
- Education & Unemployment: The unemployment rate among educated persons (secondary and above) reduced to 6.5%, reflecting better absorption of the skilled workforce.
- Gender Wage Growth: Nominal wages for women grew across all sectors, with the highest growth of 8.8% observed in the self-employed category.
- Education Attainment: At the all-India level, the average number of years in formal education for those aged 15+ reached 10.0 years.
