Unemployment rate rises to 5.6 pc in May, female joblessness higher at 5.8pc

New Delhi: The rate of unemployment in the country, measured in monthly term, rose to 5.6 per cent in May from 5.1 per cent in April this year mainly due to seasonal variation, showed the government data released on Monday.

Earlier last month, 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 May 2025 rose to 5.6 per cent from 5.1 per cent in April 2025.

The pace of joblessness among females was higher at 5.8 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent in males at the country level in May 2025.

Joblessness among those in the age group of 15-29 increased to 15 per cent in May from 13.8 per cent in April 2025 across the country.

The rate of unemployment in urban areas rose to 17.9 per cent in May from 17.2 per cent in April, while it was 13.7 per cent in the month under review up from 12.3 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.

In rural areas, employment shifted away from the primary sector (agriculture) (from 45.9 per cent in April to 43.5 per cent in May 2025) to the secondary and services sectors, it noted.

Reduction in agricultural activities with the end of Rabi harvest season for both males and females in the rural areas may have brought about the downward shift in number of workers, it stated.

In urban areas, changes were more marginal with slight declines in own account workers and casual labourers, affecting workforce numbers, it stated.

The study further showed that the unemployment rate (UR) among women in the age group of 15-29 also increased to 16.3 per cent in May from 14.4 per cent in April across the country (rural+urban).

The joblessness rate also increased to 24.7 per cent in May from 23.7 in cities in April and to 13 per cent in the month from 10.7 per cent in villages in April.

Joblessness among men aged 15-29 years was recorded at 14.5 per cent in May from 13.6 per cent in the country.

It also increased to 15.8 per cent in May from 15 per cent in cities in April and rose to 14 per cent from 13 per cent in villages.

The data also showed that Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among people aged 15 years and above dipped to 54.8 per cent in May 55.6 per cent during April 2025.

The participation rate in rural areas also came down to 56.9 per cent in May from 58 per cent in April and also declined to 50.4 per cent in the month from 50.7 per cent in urban areas.

LFPR among males aged 15 years and above also came down to 78.3 per cent in May from 79 per cent in April.

A decline in female LFPR, especially in rural areas (more than 1 percentage point) was due to fewer women working as casual labourers and unpaid helpers, it stated.

The decline in LFPR and WPR and the rise in UR were driven largely by seasonal agricultural patterns, higher summer temperature experienced in May in some parts of the country due to which physical outdoor work gets limited and movement of some unpaid helpers to domestic chores, especially in the higher income (top 3 decile) rural households, it explained.

Similarly in urban areas, it also dipped to 75.1 per cent in May from 75.3 per cent in April 2025.

Among females aged 15 years and above, the rate of labour force participation also declined to 36.9 per cent in May from 38.2 per cent for rural areas during April 2025.

The LFPR for women aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 25.3 per cent in May from 25.7 per cent in April this year.

LFPR refers to the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.

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

WPR in rural areas among those aged 15 years and above also dipped to 54.1 per cent in May from 55.4 per cent in April 2025, the data showed.

The ratio in urban areas was also lower at 46.9 per cent in May from 47.4 per cent in April.

The overall WPR at the national level was recorded at 51.7 per cent in May lower than 52.8 per cent in April 2025.

WPR among females aged 15 years and above in rural also declined to 35.2 per cent in May from 36.8 per cent in April this year and to 23 per cent in the month from 23.5 per cent.

The overall female WPR of the same age group at the country level also came down to 31.3 per cent in May from 32.5 per cent in April 2025.

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

Across the country, a total of 7,511 first-stage sampling units were surveyed during May 2025.

The number of households surveyed was 89,372 (49,267 in rural areas and 40,105 in urban areas) and a number of persons surveyed was 3,79,600 (2,16,542 in rural areas and 1,63,058 in urban areas).

The labour force survey has been released quarterly as well as annual basis so far.

The statistics ministry explained that changes are expected in the monthly PLFS ratios due to increased frequency and seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends.

There would be attributable to a combination of seasonal, academic and labour market-related factors, it stated.