Unemployment rate rises marginally to 4.8% in December

In December 2025, overall labour force participation for females aged 15 years and above edged up to 35.3% from 35.1% in November.

New Delhi: Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above rose marginally to 4.8 per cent in December 2025 compared to 4.7 per cent in the preceding month.

The unemployment rate (UR) or joblessness, among persons of age 15 years and above, remained largely stable in December 2025, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday.

The overall UR is estimated at 4.8 per cent in December 2025 against 4.7 per cent observed in November 2025, it added.

The rural UR remained stagnant at 3.9 per cent, while the urban UR increased to 6.7 per cent from 6.5 per cent in the previous month, the data showed.

Among rural males aged 15 years and above, the UR remained low and stable at 4.1 per cent in December, 2025.

Further, the urban female UR moderated to 9.1 per cent in December 2025 from 9.3 per cent in November 2025.

According to a statement, the UR in the remaining gender sector increased slightly, though it continued to remain below the levels observed during the mid-year months.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group of 15 years and above showed a gradual improvement in December.

Among rural males, WPR edged up to 76 per cent in December from 75.4 per cent in November 2025, while urban male WPR observed a decline from 70.9 per cent in November 2025 to 70.4 per cent in December, pushing the overall male WPR to 74.1 per cent.

Rural female WPR rose marginally from 38.4 per cent to 38.6 per cent during this period, while urban female WPR was around 23 per cent, leading to an overall female WPR of 33.6 per cent in December 2025 from 33.4 per cent observed in November.

The overall WPR observed at 53.4 per cent in December 2025 against 53.2 per cent in November.

The overall workforce remained steady, rising marginally to 53.4 per cent in December 2025 from 53.2 per cent in November.

The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR) among persons aged 15 years and above showed an upward trend.

The overall LFPR observed at 56.1 per cent in December 2025 compared to 55.8 per cent in November.

In rural areas, the LFPR was estimated at 59 per cent in December 2025 against 58.6 per cent in November.

The urban LFPR experienced a slight dip to 50.2 per cent from 50.4 per cent during this period.

In December 2025, overall labour force participation for females aged 15 years and above edged up to 35.3 per cent from 35.1 per cent in November.

In rural areas, it witnessed an increase to 40.1 per cent during December 2025 from 39.7 per cent in the previous month and in urban areas, it slipped slightly to 25.3 per cent from 25.5 per cent.

Rural female LFPR continued its gradual rise, reaching 40.1 per cent in December, up from 39.7 per cent in November, 2025.

At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total of 3,73,990 persons surveyed.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) defines the proportion of those who are employed among the total population.

Considering the need for high-frequency labour force indicators with enhanced coverage, the sampling methodology of PLFS has been revamped since January 2025.

The monthly bulletins for the period from April to November 2025 have already been released. The present bulletin for December 2025 is the ninth in the series.