PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin August 2025
PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin August 2025
Snapshot:
Introduction
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population. The PLFS survey methodology has been modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
Monthly results of PLFS are released in the form of Monthly Bulletins. It presents estimates of key labour market indicators, viz. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status[1] (CWS) approach.
The Monthly Bulletins for the months April 2025 to July 2025 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for the month of August 2025 is the fifth in the series.
Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:
The UR among male of age 15 years and above has declined to 5.0% in August 2025, the lowest level observed since April 2025. This is due to the fall in UR of male in urban areas from 6.6% in July 2025 to 5.9% in August 2025. The UR among rural male has also declined to 4.5% in August 2025 which is lower than the UR levels of previous four months observed for rural male.
UR among male declined to 5-month low level of
5.0% in August 2025
Overall rural unemployment rate has declined successively for three months in a row from 5.1% in May 2025 to 4.3% in August 2025
The female workforce has increased in both rural and urban areas for the last two successive months
In rural areas it has gone up from 33.6% in June 2025 to 35.9% in August 2025
In urban areas it has increased from 22.9% in June 2025 to 23.8% in August 2025
Female LFPR increased for the second successive month across rural and urban areas
Rise in Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): The overall LFPR for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 54.2% in June 2025 to 55% in August 2025.
At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of persons surveyed 3,76,839
persons surveyed in rural areas
2,15,895
persons surveyed in urban areas
1,60,944
The Monthly Bulletin for the month August 2025 is available at the website of the Ministry (https://www.mospi.gov.in).
The activity status of a person is determined on the basis of the activities pursued by the person during the specified reference period. The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.