Unemployment rate in India rises marginally to 4.8% in December: MoSPI
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed the unemployment rate among people aged 15 and above grew marginally to 4.8% in the month of December 2025 from 4.7% in November 2025. During December, the unemployment rate in rural areas remained stagnant at 3.9%, while it rose to 6.7% in Urban India from 6.5% in the previous month. Meanwhile, joblessness among rural males remained low and stable at 4.1%, while unemployment rate among urban female moderated to 9.1% during December from 9.3% in November 2025. The survey noted that joblessness in the remaining gender sector increased slightly, continued to remain below the levels observed during the mid-year months.
In December, the overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose marginally to 53.4% from 53.2% in November. The WPR among rural males has edged up to 76% in December from 75.4% in November, while it declined to 70.4% among urban males in December from 70.9% in November, pushing the overall male WPR to 74.1%. Further, the WPR among females rose marginally from 38.4% in November to 38.6% during December, while urban female WPR was around 23%, leading to an overall female WPR of 33.6% in December 2025 from 33.4% in November.
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above showed an upward trend, overall LFPR rising to 56.1% in December 2025 compared to 55.8% in November. The LFPR in rural areas has increased to 59% in December from 58.6% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, urban areas experienced a slight dip to 50.2% during December from 50.4% in November.
