A.        Introduction

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment unemployment condition of the population. The PLFS survey methodology has been modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.

Monthly results of PLFS are released in the form of Monthly Bulletins. It presents estimates of key labour market indicators viz. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.

The Monthly Bulletins for the months April 2025 to October 2025 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for the month of November 2025 is the eighth in the series.

Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) continues upward movement:

The overall LFPR among persons of age 15 years and above increased to 55.8% in November 2025, the highest level recorded since April 2025. The increase in LFPR was primarily driven by rural areas, where the LFPR rose to 58.6% in November 2025 from 58.0% in April 2025. Compared with the previous month, rural LFPR increased from 57.8%, while urban LFPR decreased marginally from 50.5% to 50.4%.

• Female labour force participation maintains upward momentum:

Overall Female LFPR showed a steady rise from June 2025 to November 2025. It increased from 32.0% to 35.1% during this period, driven mainly by higher labour force participation in rural areas, while urban female LFPR remained relatively stable.

• Workforce strengthens across sectors:

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 years and above showed a broadly improving trend in November 2025. In rural areas, WPR increased from 55.4% in April 2025 to 56.3% in November 2025, while the overall WPR rose from 52.8% to 53.2% during the same period. Urban WPR remained largely stable. Notably, rural female WPR improved from 36.8% in April 2025 to 38.4% in November 2025, driving the rise in overall female WPR from 32.5% to 33.4% over this period.

• Overall Unemployment Rate (UR) declined:

The UR among persons of age 15 years and above decreased to 4.7% in November 2025, making it the lowest level since April 2025. In November 2025, the rural UR fell to a new low of 3.9%, while the urban UR decreased to 6.5%, matching its previous lowest level recorded in April 2025.

• Decline in Unemployment Rates (UR) across gender and sector:

Unemployment rates (UR) for both males and females aged 15 years and above showed a notable decline in November 2025. Among females, the UR fell to 4.8% in November 2025, down from 5.4% in October 2025. This decline was driven by reductions in both rural and urban female URs, which decreased from 4.0% to 3.4% and 9.7% to 9.3%, respectively.

Further, the overall male UR decreased to 4.6% in November 2025, compared with 5.1% in October 2025. Disaggregated by sector, rural and urban male URs stood at 4.1% and 5.6% in November 2025, compared with 4.6% and 6.1% observed in the preceding month.

Unemployment rates showed a steady and broad-based decline across male, female, and all persons during April–November 2025. The fall was more pronounced in rural areas, where both male and female unemployment reached their lowest levels in November. Urban unemployment remained higher but showed improvement towards the end of the period. Overall, the trends suggest strengthening labour market conditions, supported by gains in rural employment, rising female participation, and a gradual recovery in urban labour demand.

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Samrat