Rural Women Drive Indian Women's Labour Force Participation Rise

By: WE staff | Thursday, 23 October 2025

• India's Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 55.3% in September 2025, the highest since four months
• Women's Labour Force Participation Rate stood at 34.1%, with rural women accounting for the largest part of the increase

India's labor market was again strong in September 2025, with the country's Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) improving to 55.3 percent, which was the five-month high, said the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) published by the National Statistical Office.

The uptick was led by improving rural female participation, which has been enhancing continuously for the last three months.

Women's Labour Force Participation Rate stood at 34.1 percent, with rural women accounting for the largest part of the increase, going up from 35.2 percent in June to 37.9 percent in September, reflecting a shift in rural employment trends.

By comparison, urban female participation was flat at 26.1 percent, reflecting persistent urban-rural differentials in women's employment. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) measuring how many of those working are within the population also rose to 52.4 percent, a record high since May.

Female WPR increased from 30.2 percent to 32.3 percent in general, and from 33.6 percent to 36.3 percent for rural women, indicating increasing absorption of female workers, while male WPR increased marginally to 73.2 percent.

Employment under the PLFS is estimated with two recall periods—Usual Status (365 days) and Current Weekly Status (7 days)—where employment is coded as having worked one or more hours in the reference period.

In spite of these improvements, the unemployment rate (UR) crept up slightly to 5.2 percent in September, breaking a two-month slide, rural unemployment rising to 4.6 percent and urban unemployment to 6.8 percent.

For women, the overall UR was 5.5 percent, with urban female’s unemployment increasing from 8.9 percent to 9.3 percent.

The National Statistical Office reported that the modest rise in unemployment was propelled by increased participation in the labour market and not by job losses, indicating a more vibrant and growing workforce.

The findings of the survey are drawn from a nationally representative sample of 3.75 lakh people, including both rural and urban employment patterns in India.