**Executive Summary**
This report, published by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on February 10, 2026, presents findings from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for October-December 2025. It compares key employment and unemployment indicators with the previous quarter (July-September 2025). The bulletin is accessible via the provided website or QR code.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **General Trends (October-December 2025 vs. July-September 2025):**
* The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 55.8% (from 55.1%).
* The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) improved to 53.1% (from 52.2%).
* The Unemployment Rate (UR) declined across rural and urban sectors.
* **Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):**
* Increased to 34.9% (from 33.7%), driven by rural areas.
* Female LFPR in urban areas remained stable.
* **Employment Status:**
* Share of self-employed workers in rural areas increased to 63.2% (from 62.8%).
* The agriculture sector continued to dominate rural employment, accounting for 58.5% (from 57.7%).
* The tertiary sector continued to engage 61.9% of workers during October-December 2025 in urban areas.
* **Unemployment Rate (UR):**
* The UR in rural areas declined to 4.0% (from 4.4%).
* The UR in urban areas decreased to 6.7% (from 6.9%).
* **Survey Data:**
* The quarterly estimates are based on data collected from 5,61,108 persons surveyed across India.
* 3,21,040 persons were surveyed in rural areas.
* 2,40,068 persons were surveyed in urban areas.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation**
* **Impact:** The Ministry is responsible for disseminating the survey findings.
* **Action Required:** Maintain the website and make the quarterly bulletin available.
**Policy Makers**
* **Impact:** These indicators are vital for policy decisions related to employment and workforce participation.
* **Action Required:** Utilise the data to inform and adjust employment and economic policies.
**Citizens and Researchers**
* **Impact:** This is valuable insights into the employment landscape and trends in India.
* **Action Required:** Review the report to understand the current labour force conditions.
Key Entities Referenced
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): A survey conducted by NSO, MoSPI, to collect data on activity participation and employment-unemployment conditions. It's methodology has been modified to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI): The ministry conducting the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) through NSO and the primary source of the bulletin.
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): One of the key employment and unemployment indicators generated by the PLFS under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework.
Worker Population Ratio (WPR): One of the key employment and unemployment indicators generated by the PLFS under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework.
Unemployment Rate (UR): One of the key employment and unemployment indicators generated by the PLFS under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Female LFPR maintains upward momentum
Unemployment Rate declines Overall WPR rises
Self-employment grew modestly
Posted On: 10 FEB 2026 4:00PM by PIB Delhi
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above
increased to 55.8% during October–December 2025, compared to 55.1% in the previous
quarter.
Female LFPR (15 years and above) recorded a notable rise to 34.9% in October–December
2025, up from 33.7% during July–September 2025.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 years and above improved from
52.2% in July–September 2025 to 53.1% in October–December 2025.
The Rural WPR for persons aged 15 years and above continued to show a steady upward
trend across both genders during April–June 2025 to October–December 2025.
The Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above declined across both
rural and urban sectors.
The share of self-employed workers in rural areas increased to 63.2% during October–
December 2025, compared to 62.8% in the last quarter.
The agriculture sector continued to dominate rural employment, accounting for 58.5% of
employed persons aged 15 years and above during October–December 2025, up from
57.7% in July–September 2025.
A. Introduction
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on
activity participation and employment-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 both rural and urban India under the CWS framework.
Considering the need to generate high-frequency labour force indicators with wider coverage, the
sampling methodology of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was revamped from January, 2025.
The redesigned PLFS aims to achieve the following objectives:
To generate key employment and unemployment indicators – namely Labour Force Participation
Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) – every month for
both rural and urban areas at the all-India level under the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
To extend the Quarterly PLFS results to rural areas, thereby producing quarterly estimates of labour
market indicators for both rural and urban India under the CWS framework.
To provide annual estimates of key employment and unemployment indicators in both Usual Status
(ps+ss) and Current Weekly Status (CWS) for rural as well as urban areas.Earlier PLFS Quarterly Bulletins released up to December, 2024, presented labour market indicators only
for urban areas. The Bulletin for April – June, 2025 marked the first in the series to provide estimates for
both rural and urban areas and the current Bulletin for October – December, 2025 is the third in the series.
In this Quarterly Bulletin, efforts have been made to provide estimates of the number of workers in
absolute terms.
This Quarterly Bulletin presents estimates of key labour force indicators—Labour Force Participation
Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), and the distribution of workers
by broad employment status and industry of work – in the Current Weekly Status (CWS), separately for
rural and urban areas at the all-India level. In addition, state-level estimates of LFPR, WPR, and UR in
CWS are also provided for selected States.
Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) witnessed modest increase: The overall LFPR among persons
of age 15 years and above witnessed an increase to 55.8% during October-December, 2025, compared to
55.1% in the previous quarter. In rural areas, LFPR for persons of age 15 years and above increased to
58.4% in the present quarter from 57.2% observed during July-September, 2025. Urban LFPR for the
same age group remained broadly steady during the period April-June, 2025 to October-December, 2025.
Female LFPR showed increasing trend: The overall LFPR of female aged 15 years and above showed
upward trend, increased to 34.9% in October-December, 2025 from 33.7% in the previous quarter, driven
by increase in female LFPR in rural areas from 37.5% in the quarter July-September, 2025 to 39.4% in
October-December, 2025. However, female LFPR in urban areas remained stable.Female LFPR showed increasing trend, increased to 34.9% in October-December, 2025 from 33.7% in
July-September 2025.
Rise in workforce: The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons of age 15 years and above
rose to 53.1% in October-December, 2025 as compared to 52.2% in July-September, 2025 mainly driven
by the increased workforce participation of persons in rural areas. The overall WPR of female aged 15
years and above continued to improve during the quarter October-December, 2025 as compared to last two
quarters, reflecting a positive shift in women’s engagement in the workforce.
The overall WPR of age 15 years and above rose to 53.1% in October-December, 2025 from 52.2%
observed in the previous quarter.Unemployment Rate (UR) declines: The UR among persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas
declined to 4.0% in October-December, 2025 from 4.4% in the previous quarter, driven by reduction in
UR for both rural male and female. The urban unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above
decreased to 6.7% as compared to 6.9% reported in the previous quarter, driven by a decline in urban male
UR from 6.2% during July-September, 2025 to 5.9% in the current quarter.
Both rural and urban UR among persons aged 15 years and above declined during October-December,
2025.
Self-employment experienced rise in both rural and urban areas: Self-employed persons of age 15 years
and above in rural areas increased to 63.2% during October- December, 2025, up from 62.8% recorded in
the previous quarter July-September, 2025. In urban areas, self-employed persons of the same age group
were reported as 39.7% during October-December, 2025 compared to 39.3% during July-September,
2025.Concentration of rural workforce in primary sector and urban workforce in tertiary sector: Rural areas
maintained the similar pattern, with the majority of workers engaged in the agriculture sector, accounting
for 58.5% during October-December, 2025, up from 57.7% in the previous quarter. In the urban areas, the
tertiary sector remained stable, engaging 61.9% of workers during October-December, 2025.Using the projected population figures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the
absolute number of workers aged 15 years and above has been estimated. During the quarter July–
September 2025, an average of 56.2 crore persons were employed in the country, comprising 39.6 crore
males and 16.6 crore females. This increased to 57.4 crore during October–December 2025, of which 40.2
crore were males and 17.2 crore were females.
At the all-India level, the quarterly estimates are based on information collected from a total of
5,61,108 persons surveyed.
persons surveyed in rural areas persons surveyed in urban areas
3,21,040 2,40,068The Quarterly Bulletin for the Scan the QR code to access the Publications/ Reports
quarter October–December,
2025 is available on the
website of the Ministry
(https://www.mospi.gov.in).
***
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