India's unemployment rate at 5.1% in April; labour force participation at 55.6%

New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above stood at 5.1% in April 2025 , according to the latest data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (Mospi) on Thursday. The unemployment rate was 5.2% among males and 5% among females.

The data, based on the current weekly status (CWS) approach, showed India's labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 55.6% in April. Typically, the CWS captures a person’s employment status over the seven days preceding the survey, while the usual status reflects their activity over a 365-day reference period. LFPR is the percentage of people who are either working or actively seeking work.

Rural-urban and gender divide

During April, rural areas saw a higher LFPR of 58%, compared to 50.7% in urban areas, while male participation remained significantly higher than female participation. LFPR for males stood at 79% in rural areas and 75.3% in urban areas, while female LFPR was 38.2% in rural areas during the month.

Mint reported on Wednesday that key indicators from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) — the LFPR, worker population ratio (WPR), and unemployment rate (UR) — would now be released monthly, rather than quarterly, starting with the April 2025 bulletin that's published in May.

India's WPR, which measures the percentage of people who are employed, was 52.8% in April for people aged 15 and above. It was 55.4% in rural areas and 47.4% in urban areas. 

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Notably, the WPR for women was considerably lower than that for men. In rural areas, only 36.8% of women aged 15 and above were working, while in urban areas the figure dropped to just 23.5%. The overall female WPR stood at 32.5% in April.

The latest data highlights persistent gender and rural-urban gaps in labour market indicators, even as headline unemployment figures remain stable.

Sampling design revamped

On Wednesday, the ministry said the PLFS sampling design had been revamped from January 2025 to provide high-frequency labour market indicators with expanded coverage as part of strengthening the National Sample Survey (NSS) system. A monthly rotational panel scheme has been introduced across rural and urban areas, with each selected household now surveyed four times over four consecutive months, it added.

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Key changes implemented by the ministry include a revised multistage stratified sampling method, updated definitions of sampling units and strata, and an increase in surveyed households per unit from 8 to 12. The Schedule of Inquiry has also been modified. The ministry also advised users to account for the latest changes when comparing post-January 2025 data with previous PLFS estimates.

The revamped PLFS aims to deliver monthly CWS-based labour market indicators at the national level, extend quarterly estimates to rural areas, and provide annual indicators in both usual status and CWS for rural and urban areas, it added.

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