India’s latest official labour force survey pointed to an improving job market in November 2025, with more people either working or actively looking for work, and unemployment falling to its lowest level in seven months. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) bulletin published on Monday by the National Statistics Office showed that key indicators such as labour force participation, employment ratio and joblessness all moved in a favourable direction during November.
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for people aged 15 and above rose to 55.8 per cent in November, the highest since April 2025. This meant a larger share of the working-age population was either employed or seeking work.
The growth was driven mainly by rural India, where LFPR climbed to 58.6 per cent, while urban LFPR stayed broadly steady at 50.4 per cent.
Female participation improves
The overall female LFPR rose to 35.1 per cent in November from 32 per cent in June, thanks largely to more rural women entering the workforce.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which measures how many people are actually employed as a share of the population, also inched up.
For those aged 15 and above, WPR improved to 53.2 per cent in November from 52.5 per cent in October and 51.2 per cent in June.
Rural WPR rose to 56.3 per cent, compared with 55.4 per cent in April, while urban WPR remained largely stable.
Rural female WPR moved up from 36.8 per cent in April to 38.4 per cent in November, lifting the overall female WPR from 32.5 per cent to 33.4 per cent over the same period.
Unemployment rate drops
The overall unemployment rate for those 15 and above dropped to 4.7 per cent in November from 5.2 per cent in October, marking the lowest reading since April 2025.
Rural unemployment fell to 3.9 per cent, a new low for the period, while urban unemployment eased to 6.5 per cent, matching its April trough. Joblessness among women declined from 5.4 per cent to 4.8 per cent, with both rural and urban female unemployment rates registering improvements.
For men, the unemployment rate eased to 4.6 per cent from 5.1 per cent, with declines in both rural and urban areas.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) noted that the improvement in unemployment rate was due to “strengthening labour market conditions”, aided by better rural employment, rising female participation and a gradual recovery in urban job demand.
The Centre conducts the Periodic Labour Force Survey at the all-India level. For November, the monthly estimates were based on information collected from a total number of 3,73,229 persons surveyed (2,13,337 in rural areas and 1,59,892 in urban areas).
