A.        Introduction

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions 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 April, 2025 to November, 2025 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for December, 2025 is the ninth in the series.

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

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) maintains upward momentum:

The overall LFPR among persons of age 15 years and above showed upward trend. The overall LFPR observed as 56.1% in December, 2025 compared to 55.8% in November, 2025 . In rural areas, the LFPR estimated as 59.0% in December, 2025 in comparison to 58.6% in November, 2025. The urban LFPR experienced a slight dip to 50.2% from 50.4% during this period.

Overall LFPR rises to a yearly peak at 56.1% in December, 2025

• Female labour force participation climbed to yearly high:

In December 2025, overall labour force participation for female of age 15 years and above edged up to 35.3% from 35.1% in November, 2025. In rural areas, it witnessed an increase to 40.1% during December, 2025 from 39.7% in the previous month and in urban areas, it slipped slightly to 25.3% in December, 2025 from 25.5% in November, 2025.

Rural female LFPR continued its gradual rise, reaching 40.1% in December, 2025, up from 39.7% in November, 2025.

 

• WPR witnessed steady rise:

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above showed a gradual improvement in December, 2025. Among rural male, WPR edged up to 76.0% in December, 2025 from 75.4% in November, 2025 while urban male WPR observed decline from 70.9% in November, 2025 to 70.4% in December, 2025, pushing overall male WPR to 74.1%.

Rural female WPR rose marginally from 38.4% to 38.6% during this period, while urban female WPR was around 23.0%, leading to an overall female WPR of 33.6% in December, 2025 from 33.4% observed in November, 2025. The overall WPR for persons observed as 53.4% in December, 2025 against 53.2% in November, 2025.

 

 

 

The overall workforce remained steady, rising marginally to 53.4% in December, 2025 from 53.2% in November, 2025.

 

• Overall Unemployment Rate (UR) remains broadly stable:

The UR among persons of age 15 years and above remained largely stable in December, 2025. The overall UR is estimated at 4.8% in December, 2025, compared to 4.7% observed in November, 2025. The rural UR remained stagnant at 3.9%, while the urban UR increased to 6.7% from 6.5% in the previous month.

Rural UR continued to stay low at 3.9% in December, 2025, unchanged from November, 2025.

 

• Rural male UR stable, urban female declines:

Among rural male aged 15 years and above, the UR remained low and stable at 4.1% in December, 2025. Further, the urban female UR moderated to 9.1% in December, 2025, compared to 9.3% in November, 2025. The UR in the remaining gender-sector increased slightly, though it continued to remain below the levels observed during the mid-year months.

 

At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,73,990 persons surveyed.
persons surveyed in rural areas 2,13,216	persons surveyed in urban areas 1,60,774

 

The Monthly Bulletin for the month December, 2025 is available on the website of the Ministry (https://www.mospi.gov.in).

Scan QR code to access MoSPI Publications/ Reports

 

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Samrat

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