Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report, 2025

Why in the news? 

Recently, the findings of PLFS 2025 covering January, 2025 – December, 2025 were released. 

Key Highlights of PLFS, Annual Report 2025

• Stable Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):  In usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above stood at 59.3% and remained stable compared to 2024. 
  • 79.1% for Male and 40.0% for female. 
  • 62.8% for Rural areas and 52.2% for Urban areas.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): In usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above estimated as 57.4%.
  • 76.6% for Male and for 38.8% female. 
  • 61.2% for Rural areas and 49.7% for Urban areas.
• Unemployment Rates (UR): In usual status (ps+ss) for persons aged 15 years and above was 3.1% overall.
  • 3.1% for both male (marginal decline from 3.3% in 2024) and female.
  • 2.4% for Rural areas and 4.8% for Urban areas.
• Main Reason for not being in labour force: Male- 69.8% reported want to continue studies; Female- 44.4% cited childcare/personal commitments in home-making as main reason.
• Youth unemployment (age 15-29 years): Decline in UR in usual status (ps+ss)- 9.9% in 2025 from 10.3% in 2024.
• Unpaid Work Gap: Urban self-employed male worked about 17.5 hours more per week than their female counterpart (12.3 hours per week in rural areas). 
  • In regular wage/salaried employment and casual labour, male worked approximately 7.9 hours and 6.9 hours more per week, respectively, than female.
• Composition of Employment: The percentage distribution of workers (in usual status) by status in employment indicates a modest shift in 2025. 
  • Share of self-employment declined from 57.5% in 2024 to 56.2% in 2025. 
  • Share of regular wage/salaried employment increased from 22.4% to 23.6%. 
  • The share of workers engaged in casual labour remained broadly stable at around one-fifth of total employment 
• Sectoral Contribution: Agriculture accounts for largest share of employment, though decreased from 44.8% in 2024 to 43.0% in 2025. 
  • Construction saw marginal decrease (12.3% to 12.0%).
  • Manufacturing saw an improvement from 11.6% to 12.1%.
  • Other services have also recorded an increase (12.2% to 13.1%).
• Improved Earnings: Average earnings in regular wage/salaried employment for male increased 5.8% growth (2024-2025) (7.2% growth for females).
• Education:
  • Average number of years in formal education: 10 years for persons aged 15 years and above (male at 10.2 years and female at 9.9 years); 9.8 years for persons 25 years and above.
  • Persons with at least secondary education: 67.8% in age group 15 years and above.
  • Formal vocational/ technical training: 4.2% among persons aged 15-59 years, 5% in group 15-29 years.
• Percentage of persons not in employment, education or training (NEET): In usual status (ps+ss) 24.9% for age group 15-59 years and 21.0% persons in the age group 15-24 years.

About PLFS

• Origin: 2017
• Conducted by: National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). 
• Significance: Primary source of statistics on labour force, activity participation of population and structure of employment and unemployment in country. 
• Revamped Methodology: It was revamped from January 2025, with key changes like-  shifting survey period of PLFS from July-June cycle (agricultural year) to January-December cycle (calendar year) and changes in Sample Design
  • Hence, Annual Report, PLFS 2025, is the first comprehensive report based on calendar year (January 2025-December 2025) as survey period.
• Purpose of Revamping: 
  • Estimate key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. LFPR, WPR, UR) on a monthly basis for rural and urban areas in Current Weekly Status (CWS) at all-India level.
  • Extend coverage of Quarterly results of PLFS to rural areas and producing quarterly estimates covering both rural and urban areas in CWS. 
  • Estimate important employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS for rural and urban areas annually. 

Definition of Key Terms in PLFS Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):  Percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population. Worker Population Ratio (WPR):  Percentage of employed persons in the population. Unemployment Rate (UR): Percentage of persons unemployed among persons in labour force. Activity Status - Usual Status: Determined on basis of activities pursued by person during specified reference period.  When activity status is determined based on reference period of last 365 days preceding the date of survey, it is known as usual activity status.  Principal activity status (ps):  Activity status on which a person spent relatively long time (major time criterion) during 365 days preceding the date of survey.  Subsidiary economic activity status (ss): The activity status in which a person in addition to his/her usual principal status, performs some economic activity for 30 days or more for the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey.  Activity Status - Current Weekly Status (CWS): Determined based on a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey.

Conclusion

The PLFS Annual Report 2025 highlights a resilient Indian labor market, marked by a gradual shift toward formal, salaried positions and a healthy reduction in absolute agricultural dependence. However, moving past headline metrics reveals persistent structural imbalances, including a high youth NEET rate, significant vocational skill deficits, etc.