Government releases the first ever Monthly PLFS Report for April 2025

The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the first-ever monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report on 15 May 2025. The PLFS April 2025 report contains the country's employment and unemployment status for the January to March quarter 2025.

The next monthly report will be released on 15 June 2025.

The Ministry used to release the PLFS report quarterly and annually, but it has decided to release it monthly, quarterly, and annually.

The government uses the employment and unemployment data in the PLFS report to make policies regarding employment and labour welfare.

Who releases the PLFS Report? 

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases the PLFS report. 

• The data is collected through a sample survey by the National Sample Survey (NSS).
• During the April quarter of 2025 (January to March 2025), 89,434 households were surveyed, 49,323 in rural areas and 40,111 in urban areas. 
• The total number of people surveyed was 3,80,838, 2,17,483 in rural areas and 1,63,355 in urban areas.

About the 2025 April PLFS report 

The PLFS report estimates the three key employment and unemployment indicators-  Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, and Unemployment Rate at the all-India level in the Current Weekly Status (CWS)

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) Data for April 2025 

• The Labour Force Participation Rate in Current Weekly Status among persons aged 15 and above was 55.6% in April 2025.
•  For persons aged 15 and above, it was 58.0% in rural areas, and 50.7% in urban areas..
• For males 15 years of age and above in rural and urban areas, the rates were 79.0% and 75.3%, respectively.
• For females aged 15 years and above in the rural areas, it was 38.2%.

Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in CWS 

• For persons 15 years and above in the rural areas, it was above 55.4%. 
• In the urban areas, for persons above 15 years and above, it was 47.4%.
• The overall Worker Population Ratio in the country was 52.8%.

Unemployment Rate 

• For persons aged 15 years and above, it was 5.1 %.
• The male unemployment rate was 5.2 % compared to that of females, 5.0%.

Definition of Terms 

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): This is the percentage of the population that is in the labour force (i.e., working, seeking work, or available for work).

 Worker Population Ratio (WPR): This is the percentage of persons employed in the population.

 Unemployment Rate (UR): This is defined as the percentage of unemployed people among the labour force.

 Current Weekly Status (CWS): The activity status determined based on a reference period of the last seven days preceding the survey date is known as the person's current weekly status.