India's Female Workforce Rises as Unemployment Falls: PLFS Report

By: WE staff | Tuesday, 11 November 2025

• The recent periodic labour force survey states that female participation in the workforce of India rose
• The overall unemployment rate in the country fell within the same period
• The LFPR for people aged 15 and above increased slightly to 55.1%, from 55.0

As stated in the recent Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), female workforce participation in India continued to increase, while the overall unemployment rate decreased in the July–September 2025 quarter.

Released on 10 November, the report stresses gradual improvements in the country’s employment scenario.

The labour force participation rate (LFPR) among persons in the age of 15 years and older showed a slight increase to 55.1 percent (previous quarter 55.0 percent), while the female labour force participation rate (LFPR) increased from 33.4 percent to 33.7 percent between April and June 2025.

Similarly, the WPR in the age group of 15 years and older increased from 52.0 percent to 52.2 percent, WPR also increased for females in rural, urban, and overall segment.

The UR for persons aged 15 years and above decreased to 5.2 percent compared with 5.4 percent in the previous quarter.

This decline was mainly seen in rural areas, with the rate sliding to 4.4 percent from 4.8 percent. However, urban unemployment slightly rose with the number going up to 6.2 percent against 6.1 percent for males and to 9.0 percent against 8.9 percent for females.

The rural-urban difference also appeared in the composition of employment: while there was a significant increase in the proportion of self-employed workers to 62.8 percent from 60.7 percent in rural areas that of regular wage and salaried employees increased marginally to 49.8 percent from 49.4 percent in urban areas.

Sector-wise, rural employment remained concentrated in the agriculture sector at 57.7 percent of the workforce in this quarter, compared to 53.5 percent earlier, mainly because of seasonal Kharif agricultural activities.

The tertiary sector has remained dominant in the urban areas with 62.0 percent workers, compared to 61.7 percent in the previous quarter.

The estimated number of persons aged 15 years and above employed in July–September 2025 was 56.2 crore as per the projection from the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This included 39.6 crore males and 16.6 crore females.

The quarterly estimates at the all-India level were based on the data collected from 5, 64,828 respondents, comprising 3, 22,992 in rural areas and 2, 41,836 in urban areas.

The PLFS by the NSO continues to be the key source for information on recent employment trends and conditions in the labour market.

The methodology of the survey was revised in January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of selected labour force indicators for both rural and urban areas.