NEWS: The Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025à released by the National Statistical Office (NSO)à reveals a broadly stable labour market with LFPR at 59.3% and unemployment rate declining marginally to 3.1%.
Key Findings of PLFS 2025
· The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15+ à Remained stable at 59.3%, with a significant gender gap as male participation stood at 79.1% compared to 40.0% for females.
· The Worker Population Ratio (WPR)à Reached 57.4%, indicating that approximately 61.6 crore Indians are currently employed (41.6 crore males and 20.0 crore females).
· Approximately 25.0% of youth (15-29 years) fall into the NEET (not in employment, education or training) category, highlighting a massive underutilization of the demographic dividend.
· There is a noticeable decline in self-employment (falling to 56.2%)à While regular wage/salaried employment rose to 23.6%, signaling a modest shift toward formal work structures.
· Youth and Urban Unemploymentà The Youth Unemployment Rate (15-29 years) improved to 9.9%; however, urban youth still face a high unemployment rate of 13.6% compared to 8.3% in rural areas.
· Employment in Agriculture decreased to 43.0%, while the Manufacturing (12.1%) and Services (13.1%) sectors witnessed enhanced worker participation.
· Nominal earnings for females grew faster than males, with female self-employment earnings rising by 8.8% and regular salaried earnings by 7.2%.
· Child care and home-making commitments were cited by 44.4% of females as the primary reason for remaining out of the labour force, whereas males cited continuing studies (69.8%).
· Only 4.2% of the workforce (15-59 years) has received formal vocational or technical trainingà critical area for skill development initiatives.
· 67.8% of the population aged 15+ has attained at least a secondary level of education, with the average formal education duration standing at 10.0 years.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
· PLFSà India’s official framework for tracking employment and unemployment dynamics.
· Launched in April 2017 by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)à serves as the definitive data source for assessing the health of the Indian labor market.
Core Objectives
· Monthly & Quarterly Estimates (Rural + Urban)à Since January 2025, the survey provides monthly all-India estimates and quarterly bulletins for both rural and urban areas (previously only for urban areas).
· This tracks short-term fluctuations in the labor market using the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
· Provides a comprehensive yearly report based on the Calendar Year (January–December), covering both rural and urban sectors to capture structural shifts in the economy.
· The health of the economy is assessed through three primary "pillars"
o Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)à The percentage of the population that is either working or actively seeking work.
o LFPR=(Number of Employed + Number of Unemployed)/Total Population x 100.
o Worker Population Ratio (WPR): The percentage of employed persons in the total population.
o WPR=(Number of Employed Persons)/Total Population x 100.
o Unemployment Rate (UR): The percentage of persons unemployed among those in the labor force.
o UR=(Number of Unemployed Persons)/(Number of Employed+ Number of Unemployed) x 100.
o Classification of Activity Status: PLFS classifies individuals based on 2 time-tested frameworks:
o Usual Status (ps+ss): Determined based on the person's activity during the last 365 days. This captures long-term, stable employment trends.
o The term Usual Status (ps+ss)à Used to define a person's employment condition over a long reference period (the last 365 days).
o It is a combination of two specific categories: Principal Status (ps) and Subsidiary Status (ss).
o Current Weekly Status (CWS): Determined based on the activity during the last 7 days.
o A person is considered "employed" if they worked for at least one hour on any day during the reference week. This is the primary metric for monthly and quarterly reports.