Unemployment rate rises to 5.6% in May

Female joblessness higher at 5.8%

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NEW DELHI: The rate of unemployment in the country, measured in monthly term, rose to 5.6 per cent in May from 5.1 per cent in April this year mainly due to seasonal variation, showed the government data released on Monday.

Earlier last month, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation released the first monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) as part of efforts to monitor the proportion of unemployed people among those eligible for jobs in the country in real-time.

The latest data collected in the current weekly status (CWS) showed that the unemployment rate (UR) for persons of all ages during May 2025 rose to 5.6 per cent from 5.1 per cent in April 2025.

The pace of joblessness among females was higher at 5.8 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent in males at the country level in May 2025.

Joblessness among those in the age group of 15-29 increased to 15 per cent in May from 13.8 per cent in April 2025 across the country.

The rate of unemployment in urban areas rose to 17.9 per cent in May from 17.2 per cent in April, while it was 13.7 per cent in The month under review up from 12.3 per cent in the previous month in rural areas.

T CWS refers to the activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of the last 7 days preceding the date of the survey.

In rural areas, employment shifted away from the primary sector (agriculture) (from 45.9 per cent in April to 43.5 per cent in May 2025) to the secondary and services sectors, it noted.