The unemployment rate (UR) rose to 5.6 per cent in May as against 5.1 per cent in April, Statistics Ministry reported on Monday. UR is defined as the percentage of individuals unemployed among persons in the labour force.
“The female UR was a touch higher at 5.8 per cent compared to the male UR of 5.6 per cent at the country level during May, 2025,” the Monthly Bulletin prepared by National Statistics Office (NSO) said. Further, it emphasised that changes are expected in the monthly PLFS (Periodic Labour Force Survey) ratios due to increased frequency and seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends. These would be attributable to a combination of seasonal, academic and labour market-related factors.
All the numbers are based on survey conducted among over 89 household involving around 3.8 lakh persons.
The bulletin said that Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) among persons of age 15 years and above was 54.8 during May as compared to 55.6 per cent during April, LFPR in rural areas was 56.9 per cent and LFPR in urban areas was 50.4 per cent during May, for persons of the same age group. LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in rural areas among persons of age 15 years and above was 54.1 per cent and in urban areas was 46.9 per cent during May. Overall WPR at the country level observed as 51.7 per cent during May as compared to 52.8 per cent observed during April. WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
The bulletin highlighted that in rural areas, employment shifted away from the primary sector (agriculture) to secondary and services sectors. It was 45.9 per cent in April, which slipped to 43.5 per cent in May. Decline in female LFPR, especially in rural areas (more than 1 percentage point) due to fewer women working as casual labourers and unpaid helpers.
Reduction in agricultural activities
“Reduction in agricultural activities with the end of Rabi harvest season for both male and female in the rural areas may have brought about the downward shift in number of workers,” the bulletin said. Talking about urban areas, the report said that changes were more marginal with slight declines in own account workers and casual labourers, affecting workforce numbers.
“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,” the bulletin said.