Periodic Labour Force Survey, Key Findings, Indicators, Challenges

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI, is India's primary source of official data on employment and unemployment. Since January 2025, its methodology has been revised to produce monthly and quarterly estimates of key labour market indicators.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey estimates are released through Monthly Bulletins, which report the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level. The indicators are estimated using the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, which determines a person's labour market status based on their economic activity during the seven days preceding the survey.

Periodic Labour Force Survey Overview

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is a nationwide household survey that generates official labour market statistics, enabling the government to monitor employment trends and formulate evidence-based policies.

• Periodic Labour Force Survey Launch: The Periodic Labour Force Survey was introduced in 2017; PLFS replaced the earlier quinquennial Employment–Unemployment Surveys to provide more frequent and timely labour market data.
• Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 Revamp: From January 2025, the Periodic Labour Force Survey was redesigned to generate monthly and quarterly labour-market estimates, with the annual survey cycle shifted from July–June to January–December.
• Key Indicators: The Periodic Labour Force Survey publishes three core labour market indicators - Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR).
• PLFS Coverage: The revamped Periodic Labour Force Survey provides monthly estimates at the all-India level, quarterly estimates for both rural and urban areas, and annual estimates for the country and states.
• Reference Periods: The Periodic Labour Force Survey estimates are compiled using both the Current Weekly Status (CWS) (activity during the last 7 days) and Usual Status (PS+SS) (activity during the last 365 days) frameworks.
• Improved Methodology: The revamped design includes a larger sample size, district-level representation, and a monthly rotational panel, enhancing the reliability and representativeness of labour market statistics.
• Comparability Caveat: Due to changes in sampling design and estimation procedures from January 2025, Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 estimates may not be strictly comparable to earlier Periodic Labour Force Survey annual estimates.

Periodic Labour Force Survey Key Indicators

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) measures the status of India's labour market through a set of standardised indicators that capture labour force participation, employment, and unemployment.

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): It measures the percentage of persons in the labour force (those who are working, seeking work, or available for work) in the total population.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): It measures the percentage of employed persons in the total population, indicating the proportion of people who are engaged in economic activity.
• Unemployment Rate (UR): It measures the percentage of unemployed persons among the total labour force, reflecting the level of unemployment in the economy.
• Usual Status (US): It determines a person's employment status based on the 365 days preceding the survey, providing a measure of long-term labour market participation.
• Principal Status (PS): It classifies a person according to the activity on which they spent the major part of the previous 365 days.
• Subsidiary Status (SS): It records any economic activity performed for 30 days or more during the previous 365 days, in addition to the person's principal activity.
• Usual Status (PS+SS): It combines both the Principal Status and Subsidiary Status to provide a comprehensive measure of a person's employment status over the reference year.
• Current Weekly Status (CWS): It determines a person's employment status based on the economic activity undertaken during the seven days preceding the survey, capturing short-term changes in the labour market.

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Periodic Labour Force Survey (2025) Key Findings

The Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025 highlights a stable labour market with sustained employment levels, a gradual decline in unemployment, and improved workforce participation.

• Stable Labour Force Participation: The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above remained stable at 59.3% in 2025 (Male: 79.1%; Female: 40.0%).
• Steady Employment Levels: The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) remained almost unchanged at 57.4% in 2025 (Male: 76.6%; Female: 38.8%), indicating stable employment.
• Declining Unemployment: The Unemployment Rate (UR) stood at 3.1% in 2025. Male unemployment declined from 3.3% (2024) to 3.1%, while the female unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.1%.
• Improvement in Youth Employment: The youth (15–29 years) unemployment rate declined from 10.3% in 2024 to 9.9% in 2025, with reductions in both rural (8.7% → 8.3%) and urban (14.3% → 13.6%) areas.
• Shift in Employment Pattern: The share of self-employed workers declined gradually from 58.2% (2023) to 57.5% (2024) and 56.2% (2025), indicating a gradual shift towards wage employment.
• Labour Force Exclusion: The main reason for remaining outside the labour force was continuing education (69.8%) among males, while childcare and home-making responsibilities (44.4%) were the primary reasons among females.
• Education and Skills: About 67.8% of persons aged 15 years and above had at least secondary education, while only 4.2% of persons aged 15–59 years had received formal vocational or technical training.
• Gender Gap in Working Hours: Male workers continued to work longer hours than females across all employment categories, with the largest gap observed among self-employed workers.
• Size of the Workforce: India had an estimated 61.6 crore employed persons (aged 15 years and above) in 2025, comprising 41.6 crore males and 20.0 crore females under the Usual Status (PS+SS) framework.

Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 Highlighted Challenges

The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 reflects a resilient labour market with stable employment and declining unemployment; it also highlights several structural challenges that continue to constrain inclusive and productive employment growth.

• High Youth Unemployment and NEET Population: The youth (15–29 years) unemployment rate remained high at 9.9%, while 25% of youth were Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), reflecting a persistent education–employment mismatch.
• Low Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP): Despite gradual improvements, female labour force participation remains significantly lower than that of males due to unpaid care work, social norms, mobility constraints, and limited quality employment opportunities.
• High Self-Employment & Informality: Self-employment remains dominant at 56.2% of workers, while many workers remain outside formal employment arrangements and social security coverage.
• Low Skill Levels: PLFS highlighted that only 4–5% of the workforce has received formal vocational or technical training, limiting productivity, employability, and the availability of industry-ready skilled workers.
• Sectoral Imbalance: Although labour is gradually shifting out of agriculture, the sector still employs around 43% of the workforce.
• Gender Wage Gap: Despite improvements in women's earnings, gender disparities in labour-market participation, employment quality and remuneration persist.
• Regional and Urban–Rural Disparities: Labour market outcomes vary considerably across states and between rural and urban areas, reflecting uneven economic development and employment opportunities.
• Slow Formal Job Creation: The pace of formal employment generation remains insufficient to absorb the growing workforce, especially educated youth entering the labour market.
• Weak Labour Productivity: The large concentration of workers in agriculture and self-employment underscores the need to shift labour towards higher-productivity sectors.

Periodic Labour Force Survey Way Forward

The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 highlights that improving labour market outcomes requires a shift from merely creating jobs to generating productive, formal, and inclusive employment.

• Strengthen Youth Employability: Expand employment-linked skilling, apprenticeships, and the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) to bridge skill gaps and reduce youth unemployment and NEET rates.
• Increase Female Labour Force Participation: Improve safe transport, childcare facilities, and workplace incentives to enable greater participation of women in the labour market.
• Promote Formal Employment: Expand social security coverage and encourage enterprise formalisation to improve job quality and reduce dependence on informal employment.
• Scale Up Skill Development: Strengthen vocational and technical education through industry-aligned training and wider access to formal skill certification.
• Facilitate Structural Transformation: Strengthen Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and initiatives such as PM-SETU to support the movement of workers from agriculture to higher-productivity manufacturing and services.
• Develop Future-Ready Skills: Align skilling programmes with emerging sectors such as digital technologies, the green economy, and advanced manufacturing to improve productivity and employability.
• Reduce Regional Employment Gaps: Encourage state-level convergence of skilling and employment programmes to address regional and rural–urban disparities in labour market outcomes.