Unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in July
There was decline in the unemployment rate for both men and women in rural areas
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THULASI KAKKAT
Unemployment rate (UR) dipped to 5.2 per cent in July as against 5.6 per cent of June, Statistics Ministry reported on Monday. UR is defined as the percentage of individuals unemployed among persons in the labour force.
The result is based on survey among over 89,000 households involving over 3.79 lakh persons. During the month under consideration, there was decline in the UR for both men and women in rural areas. However, in urban areas while UR among men went up, for women, it dropped, data showed. But in overall data taken for urban and rural areas together, UR declined for both men and women.
According to Monthly Bulleting on Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) among persons of age 15 years and above was 54.9 per cent during July as compared to 54.2 per cent during June. LFPR in rural areas was 56.9 per cent and 50.7 per cent in urban areas in June, 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 rose to 54.4 per cent during July from 53.3 per cent in June. WPR in urban areas has marked marginal increase to 47 per cent in July from 46.8 per cent in June for persons of the same age group. WPR for rural female of age 15 years and above was 35.5 per cent in July as compared to 23.5 per cent observed for urban female. The overall female WPR of the same age group at the country level was 31.6 per cent in July. WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
Quarterly Number
Attached bulletin on April-June quarter showed UR in CWS for both males and females as 5.4 per cent during the April-June quarter. The overall rural UR was lower at 4.8 per cent compared to the UR of 6.8 per cent observed for the urban areas. Since this was first quarterly number on reworked formula, it cannot be compared with corresponding number.
The bulletin also highlighted that in terms of employment status, self-employment dominated in rural areas (55.3 per cent of men and 71.6 per cent of women), while regular wage/salaried employment was predominant in urban areas (47.5 per cent of men and 55.1 per cent of women). By industry of work, the agriculture sector engaged the majority of rural workers (44.6 per cent of men and 70.9 per cent of women), while the tertiary sector was the largest source of employment in urban areas (60.6 per cent of men and 64.9 per cent of women).
On an average, 56.4 crore persons (aged 15 years and above) were employed in the country during this quarter, of which 39.7 crore were men and 16.7 crore were women, the bulletin said.
Published on August 18, 2025
