Unemployment rate rises marginally to 5.2% in September
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above continued to increase for the third month in a row as it climbed up to 55.3% in September from 54.2% in June.
Unemployment rate (UR) rose marginally to 5.2 per cent in September after two successive months of decline, Statistics Ministry reported on Wednesday. UR is defined as the percentage of individuals unemployed among persons in the labour force.
The rate was 5.1 per cent in August. Unemployment rate is derived through a survey which is conducted among over 89,000 households involving over 3.76 lakh persons.
During September, rise in UR in rural areas (4.6 per cent in September from 4.5 per cent in August) and marginal increase in UR in urban areas (6.8 per cent from 6.7 per cent) among persons of age 15 years and above contributed to this increase in overall UR. UR among urban females of age 15 years and above increased to 9.3 per cent from 8.9 per cent.
This rise in UR among rural females has also contributed to the rise in overall female UR to 5.5 per cent from 5.2 per cent. Male UR has also seen moderate increase across both rural (4.7 per cent from 4.5 per cent and urban areas (6 per cent from 5.9 per cent).
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above continued to increase for the third month in a row as it climbed up to 55.3 per cent in September from 54.2 per cent in June. The LFPR in rural areas has also increased steadily to 57.4 per cent from 56.1 per cent. LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
The overall LFPR among females of age 15 years and above in September was 34.1 per cent and it was the highest level since May 2025. This was contributed by the increase in female LFPR in rural areas which improved for the third successive month from 35.2 per cent in June to 37.9 per cent in September.
The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in September was 52.4 per cent, the highest level recorded since May 2025. Rise in the female workforce, especially in rural areas, has brought about this increase. Overall WPR among females of age 15 years and above has steadily increased for the third month in a row from 30.2 per cent in June 2025 to 32.3 per cent in September 2025. The female workforce in rural areas has increased for the last three successive months from 33.6 per cent in June 2025 to 36.3 per cent in September 2025.
Published on October 15, 2025
