Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 5.6% in June

New Delhi: The unemployment rate in the country remained flat at 5.6 per cent in June compared to May this year, according to the government data released on Tuesday.

In April this year, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation released the first monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) as part of efforts to monitor the proportion of unemployed people among those eligible for jobs in the country in real-time.

The latest data collected in the current weekly status (CWS) showed that the unemployment rate (UR) for persons of all ages during June and May in 2025 remained unchanged at 5.6 per cent, slightly higher than 5.1 per cent in April this year.

The pace of joblessness among females and males remained unchanged at 5.6 per cent at the country level in June 2025.

The UR for females declined to 5.6 per cent in the last month against 5.8 per cent in May this year.

Joblessness among those in the age group of 15-29 increased to 15.3 per cent in June from 15 per cent in May 2025 across the country.

The rate of unemployment in urban areas rose to 18.8 per cent in June from 17.9 per cent in the preceding month, while it was 13.8 per cent in the month under review, up from 13.7 per cent in the previous month in rural areas.

CWS refers to the activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of the last 7 days preceding the date of the survey.

The decrease in the unemployment rate for rural areas for both males and females can be attributed to an increase in the share of own-account workers in June 2025 compared to May 2025, along with a reduction in the number of unemployed persons, it noted.

The rise in own-account work during this period may be driven by seasonal factors, prompting individuals to engage in small-scale or self-initiated activities, such as petty trade, repair work, and services, it stated.

The survey further showed that the unemployment rate among women in the age group of 15-29 also increased to 17.4 per cent in the last month against 16.3 per cent in May across the country, inclusive of both rural and urban areas.

The joblessness rate also grew to 25.8 per cent in June from 24.4 per cent in May in cities and to 13.7 per cent in the previous month from 13 per cent in May in villages.

Joblessness among men aged 15-29 years rose to 14.7 per cent in June from 14.5 per cent in May.

It also climbed to 16.6 per cent in June compared to 15.8 per cent in the preceding month in cities, whereas in villages, the joblessness rate dipped to 13.8 per cent in June from 14 per cent.

Further, the data showed that the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons aged 15 years and above was 54.2 per cent during June 2025 as compared to 54.8 per cent during May 2025.

In rural areas, the LFPR among individuals aged 15 years was 56.1 per cent and that in urban areas stood at 50.4 per cent during June 2025 in the said age group.

The LFPR in CWS for males aged 15 years and above in rural and urban areas was 78.1 per cent and 75.0 per cent, respectively, during June 2025, which marked a marginal decline from the corresponding LFPR estimates of 78.3 per cent and 75.1 per cent, respectively, for rural and urban areas during May 2025.

Among females aged 15 years and above, the LFPR was 35.2 per cent for rural areas during the reported month.

The marginal decline in LFPR and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in June 2025 was largely influenced by seasonal agricultural patterns, intense summer heat limiting outdoor physical work, and a shift of some unpaid helpers, particularly from higher-income rural households, towards domestic chores, it stated.

This trend was more pronounced among rural females, where over a 1-percentage point decline in workforce participation was observed compared to May 2025, primarily due to a reduction in unpaid helpers typically engaged in agricultural work, it stated.

Data shows that several unpaid helpers in June 2025 reported themselves as engaged in domestic duties, contributing to a decline in the labour force, especially among higher-income rural households.

Additionally, it stated the share of rural female workers in agriculture dropped from 70.2 per cent in May to 69.8 per cent in June 2025, indicating that reduced need for agricultural engagement among women, perhaps due to a decline in rural inflation.

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

The WPR in rural areas among persons aged 15 years and above was 53.3 per cent during June 2025.

Among the same age group, WPR in urban areas was 46.8 per cent in June 2025, with the overall WPR at the country level observed as 51.2 per cent during the said period, as compared to 51.7 per cent observed during May 2025.

WPR for females aged 15 years and above for rural and urban areas were 33.6 per cent and 22.9 per cent, respectively, in June 2025, and the overall female WPR of the same age group at the country level was observed as 30.2 per cent.

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

At the all-India level, a total of 7,520 first-stage sampling units have been surveyed during the quarter of June 2025.

The number of households surveyed was 89,493 (49,335 in rural areas and 40,158 in urban areas). The number of persons surveyed was 3,80,538 (2,17,251 in rural areas and 1,63,287 in urban areas).