## Summary of PLFS Monthly Bulletin - May 2025
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin for May 2025 indicates a slight decrease in the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) to 54.8% compared to 55.6% in April 2025. Rural LFPR stood at 56.9% and urban LFPR at 50.4%. Male LFPR experienced a marginal decline in both rural and urban areas. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) also decreased, with the overall WPR at 51.7% in May compared to 52.8% in April. The Unemployment Rate (UR) increased to 5.6% in May from 5.1% in April, with a slightly higher female UR of 5.8%. These shifts are attributed to seasonal agricultural patterns, the end of the Rabi harvest, and higher summer temperatures limiting outdoor work, particularly impacting female casual laborers and unpaid helpers in rural areas. Employment in rural areas shifted from agriculture to the secondary and services sectors.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Statistics Programme Implementation: The government ministry responsible for the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
Periodic Labour Force Survey: A survey conducted to assess employment and unemployment statistics. Abbreviated as PLFS.
PLFS Monthly Bulletin May 2025: The title of the bulletin being analyzed, indicating it contains data from May 2025.
PIB Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Delhi - indicates the source and location of the posting.
Labour Force Participation Rate: A key metric reported in the bulletin, abbreviated as LFPR.
Current Weekly Status: The reference period for measuring employment and unemployment, abbreviated as CWS.
April, 2025: A month used for comparison with May 2025 data.
Worker Population Ratio: Another key metric reported in the bulletin, abbreviated as WPR.
Unemployment Rate: Another key metric reported in the bulletin, abbreviated as UR.
Annexure I: Reference to an appended document containing 'Key Findings of PLFS, Monthly Bulletin May 2025'.
Annexure II: Reference to an appended document containing survey methodologies.
Rabi harvest season: Agricultural season impacting employment trends, especially in rural areas
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Monthly
Bulletin [May 2025]
Posted On: 16 JUN 2025 4:54PM by PIB Delhi
Key findings
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) among persons
(cid:108)
of age 15 years and above was 54.8% during May 2025 as compared to 55.6% during
April, 2025. LFPR in rural areas was 56.9% and LFPR in urban areas was 50.4% during
May, 2025 for persons of the same age group.
LFPR in CWS for male of age 15 years and above in rural and urban areas were
(cid:108)
respectively 78.3% and 75.1% during May, 2025 which marked a marginal decline from
the corresponding LFPR estimates of 79.0% and 75.3% respectively for rural and urban
areas during April, 2025.
LFPR among female of age 15 years and above for rural areas was 36.9% during May,
(cid:108)
2025.
Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in CWS in rural areas among persons of age 15 years
(cid:108)
and above was 54.1% during May, 2025. WPR in urban areas among persons of the
same age group was 46.9% in May 2025 with the overall WPR at the country level
observed as 51.7% during May, 2025 as compared to 52.8% observed during April, 2025.
WPR for female of age 15 years and above for rural and urban areas were respectively
(cid:108)
35.2% and 23.0% in May, 2025 and the overall female WPR of the same age group at the
country level was observed as 31.3%.
Unemployment Rate (UR) in CWS among persons of age 15 years and above has
(cid:108)
increased to 5.6% in May, 2025 from 5.1% in April, 2025. The female UR was a touch
higher at 5.8% compared to the male UR of 5.6% at the country level during May, 2025.
Key findings and survey methodologies are given at Annexure I and II
(cid:108)
Brief on the results of PLFS Monthly Bulletin for May, 2025
Changes are expected in the monthly PLFS ratios due to increased frequency and
(cid:108)
seasonal changes but do not necessarily reflect secular trends. There would be
attributable to a combination of seasonal, academic and labour market-related factors.
In rural areas, employment shifted away from the primary sector (agriculture) (from 45.9%
(cid:108)
in April to 43.5% in May 2025) to secondary and services sectors.
Decline in female LFPR, especially in rural areas (more than 1 percentage point) due to
(cid:108)
fewer women working as casual labourers and unpaid helpers.
Reduction in agricultural activities with the end of Rabi harvest season for both male and
(cid:108)
female in the rural areas may have brought about the downward shift in number of
workers.
In urban areas, changes were more marginal with slight declines in own account workers
(cid:108)
and casual labourers, affecting workforce numbers.
The decline in LFPR and WPR and the rise in UR were driven largely by seasonal
(cid:108)
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 unpaidhelpers to domestic chores, especially in the higher income (top 3 decile) rural
households.
Annexure - I
Key Findings of PLFS, Monthly Bulletin (May 2025)
1: Labour Force Participation Rate (in per cent) in CWS
sector survey month male female person
age group: 15-29 years
April 2025 63.5 23.8 43.4
May 2025 63.1 22.9 42.7
age group: 15 years and above
April 2025 79.0 38.2 58.0
rural
May 2025 78.3 36.9 56.9
age group: all age
April 2025 57.5 28.8 42.9
May 2025 57.0 27.8 42.2
age group: 15-29 years
April 2025 59.1 21.5 41.2
May 2025 58.6 21.3 40.8
age group: 15 years and above
urban April 2025 75.3 25.7 50.7
May 2025 75.1 25.3 50.4
age group: all age
April 2025 58.5 20.5 39.9
May 2025 58.5 20.2 39.7
age group: 15-29 years
April 2025 62.0 23.1 42.7
May 2025 61.6 22.4 42.1
age group: 15 years and above
rural + urban April 2025 77.7 34.2 55.6
May 2025 77.2 33.2 54.8
age group: all age
April 2025 57.8 26.2 42.0
May 2025 57.5 25.5 41.4