Unemployment rate in India rises marginally to 4.8% in December: MoSPI

16 Jan 2026 Evaluate

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed the unemployment rate among people aged 15 and above grew marginally to 4.8% in the month of December 2025 from 4.7% in November 2025. During December, the unemployment rate in rural areas remained stagnant at 3.9%, while it rose to 6.7% in Urban India from 6.5% in the previous month. Meanwhile, joblessness among rural males remained low and stable at 4.1%, while unemployment rate among urban female moderated to 9.1% during December from 9.3% in November 2025. The survey noted that joblessness in the remaining gender sector increased slightly, continued to remain below the levels observed during the mid-year months.

In December, the overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose marginally to 53.4% from 53.2% in November. The WPR among rural males has edged up to 76% in December from 75.4% in November, while it declined to 70.4% among urban males in December from 70.9% in November, pushing the overall male WPR to 74.1%. Further, the WPR among females rose marginally from 38.4% in November to 38.6% during December, while urban female WPR was around 23%, leading to an overall female WPR of 33.6% in December 2025 from 33.4% in November.

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above showed an upward trend, overall LFPR rising to 56.1% in December 2025 compared to 55.8% in November. The LFPR in rural areas has increased to 59% in December from 58.6% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, urban areas experienced a slight dip to 50.2% during December from 50.4% in November.

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