Employment in India 2025: Key Facts, Figures & Latest Updates

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1️⃣ Unemployment Trends

• April 2025: 5.1% (India’s first-ever monthly rate via revamped PLFS)
• May 2025: Rose to 5.6%
  • Female unemployment: 5.8%
• June 2025: Held steady at 5.6%
• Annual 2024 Average: 4.9%
  • Rural: 4.2%
  • Urban: 6.7%

2️⃣ Labour Force Participation & Worker Population Ratio📅 April 2025 (Monthly PLFS)

• LFPR (All India): 55.6%
  • Rural: 58.0% | Urban: 50.7%
  • Male LFPR: Rural 79% | Urban 75.3%
  • Female LFPR: Rural 38.2% | Urban: Lower
• WPR (All India): 52.8%
  • Rural: 55.4% | Urban: 47.4%
  • Female WPR: Rural 36.8% | Urban 23.5% | Overall: 32.5%

📅 Annual (July 2023–June 2024)

• LFPR Overall: 60.1%
  • Males: 78.8% | Females: 41.7%
• WPR Overall: 58.2%
  • Females: 40.3%
• 📈 LFPR rose from 57.9% to 60.1% in one year, driven by female participation.

3️⃣ Nature of Employment: Formal vs Informal👥 Workforce Composition

• Self-employed: 57.3%
• Unpaid household workers: 18.3%
• Casual labourers: 21.8%
• Regular wage/salaried: 20.9%

🏭 Sector-wise Employment

• Agriculture: ~45%
• Manufacturing: 11.4%
• Services: 28.9%
• Construction: 13.0%

🔍 Expert Insight: Despite ~20 million jobs created annually since 2017–18, most are in agriculture and self-employment. Formal wage jobs remain scarce.

4️⃣ Informal Sector & Job Losses

• 🧨 1.6 crore informal jobs lost (2015–16 to 2022–23) due to demonetisation, GST, and COVID.
• 🏗️ Historically, 95% of India’s workforce was informal—contributing over half of GDP.

5️⃣ Gender Inequity & Rural Pressures

• 👩‍🌾 Increasing number of women managing farms as men migrate for urban informal jobs—highlighting a gendered shift in rural labour.

6️⃣ MSMEs: Major Employment Engines

• 🏢 Over 63 million MSMEs
• 💼 Contribute 30% to GDP
• 📦 Account for 45% of exports
• 👷 Provide ~62% of total employment

7️⃣ Government Efforts & Policy Initiatives

• PM Internship Scheme (PMIS): Launched late 2024
  • Goal: 10 million internships in 5 years
• Zero Poverty Campaign (UP):
  • 1.35 million ultra-poor families linked to jobs & training
• MGNREGA:
  • 100 days of wage employment per rural household
  • Legal safeguards & priority for women

🔍 Summary Snapshot