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The unemployment rate (UR) or unemployment among persons aged 15 years and above remained largely stable in December 2025, according to the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday (January 15).
It said the overall UR is projected to be 4.8% in December 2025, compared to 4.7% in November 2025.
The data showed that rural UR remained stable at 3.9%, while urban UR increased to 6.7% from 6.5% last month.
Among rural males aged 15 years and above, the UR remained low and stable at 4.1% in December 2025.
Furthermore, urban female UR declined from 9.3% in November 2025 to 9.1% in December 2025.
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There was a slight increase in UR in the rest of the gender region, although it remained below levels seen during the mid-year months, according to a statement.
The worker population ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above saw a gradual improvement in December.
Among rural men, WPR increased from 75.4% in November 2025 to 76% in December, while among urban men WPR decreased from 70.9% in November 2025 to 70.4% in December, taking the overall male WPR to 74.1%.
Rural female WPR increased marginally to 38.6% from 38.4% during this period, while urban female WPR was around 23%, taking the overall female WPR to 33.6% in December 2025 from 33.4% in November.
The overall WPR seen at 53.4% in December 2025 against 53.2% in November.
The total workforce remained stable, increasing marginally from 53.2% in November to 53.4% in December 2025.
An increase was observed in the overall labor force participation rate (LFPR) among persons aged 15 years and above.
The overall LFPR seen at 56.1% in December 2025 compared to 55.8% in November.
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In rural areas, LFPR was projected to be 59% in December 2025 as against 58.6% in November.
The urban LFPR declined marginally from 50.4% to 50.2% during this period.
In December 2025, the total labor force participation of women aged 15 and above increased to 35.3% from 35.1% in November.
In rural areas, it increased to 40.1% during December 2025 from 39.7% in the previous month and in urban areas, it slipped slightly to 25.3% from 25.5%.
Rural women LFPR continued to rise sequentially, reaching 40.1% in December from 39.7% in November 2025.
At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total of 3,73,990 individuals surveyed.
Worker population ratio (WPR) defines the proportion of employed people to the total population.
Keeping in view the need for higher-frequency labor force indicators with increased coverage, the sampling methodology of PLFS has been redesigned with effect from January 2025.
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Monthly bulletins for the period April to November 2025 have already been issued. The current bulletin for December 2025 is the ninth in the series.