Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report, 2025 [January, 2025 – December, 2025]

1. At a Glance

PLFS is India's flagship household survey on labour force, employment & unemployment, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI [S1][S3].
The Annual Report 2025 is the first PLFS report based on the calendar year (Jan–Dec 2025) after the survey cycle was shifted from the agricultural year (Jul–Jun) to align with international practice [S2][S3].
Headline reading: labour market indicators broadly stable; modest gains in regular wage employment, educated unemployment & urban female unemployment [S1].

Released by MoSPI on 27 March 2026 — first annual report on the new January–December reference cycle [S1].
Comes amid policy debate on jobless growth, female labour force participation, and the structural shift away from agriculture [S1][S4].

PLFS launched in April 2017 by NSO, replacing the quinquennial NSSO Employment-Unemployment Surveys (EUS) (last round 2011-12) [S3].
First annual report: 2017-18; reports till 2023-24 followed the July–June cycle [S3].
2025 overhaul (PIB, Jan 2025): (i) shift to calendar-year cycle, (ii) introduction of monthly bulletins for key indicators, (iii) expanded rural CWS estimates, (iv) updated sampling frame based on Census 2011 with revised FSU allocation [S3].

Parent body: NSO, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) [S1].
Reference period: 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025 [S1].
Key concepts:
Usual Status (ps+ss) = principal + subsidiary status; reference period 365 days.
Current Weekly Status (CWS) = activity status during the 7 days preceding the survey.
LFPR / WPR / UR = % of population in labour force / working / unemployed within labour force [S1].
Headline numbers (age 15+, usual status ps+ss, 2025) [S1][S2]:
Rural Male LFPR: 80.5%; Rural Female LFPR: 45.9%.
Rural Male WPR: 78.4%; Rural Female WPR: 44.9%; Urban WPR ~50%.
Educated UR (sec & above, 15+): 6.5% (down from 7.0% in 2024).
Urban Female UR (15+): 6.4% (down from 6.7% in 2024).
Regular wage/salaried share: 23.6% (up from 22.4%); Male 26.5%, Female 18.2% [S2].
Sectoral share: Agriculture 43.0% (↓ from 44.8%); Manufacturing 12.1% (↑ from 11.6%); Construction 12.0% (↓ from 12.3%); Other services 13.1% (↑ from 12.2%) [S2].

Economic
Structural shift from agriculture to manufacturing/services aligns with the National Manufacturing Mission and PLI targets [S2].
Rise in regular wage share suggests modest formalisation of the workforce [S1].
Social / Gender
Urban female unemployment dipping to 6.4% and rural female WPR sustaining 44.9% reflects continuing post-2017-18 rise in female participation [S1].
Educated unemployment still elevated (>6.5%) — signals skills-jobs mismatch despite Skill India Mission [S1].
Administrative / Statistical
Calendar-year switch enables G20/ILO comparability; monthly bulletins reduce data lag for policy [S3].
Governance
PLFS data feeds Economic Survey, Union Budget labour outlays, NITI Aayog SDG India Index (SDG 8) [S1].

Jan 2025: PIB note "Changes in PLFS from 2025" — calendar-year cycle, monthly bulletins, expanded rural CWS [S3].
2025: Maiden monthly PLFS bulletins released (May, June, July… December 2025) [S4].
Nov 2025: Quarterly Bulletin Jul–Sep 2025 released [S4].
27 Mar 2026: First calendar-year Annual Report (Jan–Dec 2025) released [S1].

PLFS is conducted by NSO under MoSPI — not by Ministry of Labour [S1].
PLFS launched in 2017, replacing NSSO's quinquennial EUS [S3].
From 2025, PLFS reference period is the calendar year, not Jul–Jun [S3].
LFPR = persons in labour force ÷ population (in %) [S1].
WPR = workers ÷ population (in %) [S1].
Usual Status (ps+ss) uses a 365-day reference period; CWS uses 7-day reference [S1].
Educated unemployment (15+, sec & above) fell to 6.5% in 2025 from 7.0% in 2024 [S1].
Urban female UR (15+) fell to 6.4% in 2025 [S1].
Regular wage/salaried share rose to 23.6% in 2025 [S1].
Agriculture's employment share dropped to 43.0% in 2025 [S2].
Manufacturing share rose to 12.1% in 2025 [S2].
Rural female LFPR (15+): 45.9% in 2025 [S2].
PLFS aligns with ILO definitions of labour force indicators [S3].

GS-III — Indian Economy: Employment, growth, inclusive development; data on labour markets.
GS-II — Government policies & interventions (Skill India, PLI, NEP-jobs link).
Plausible stems: 1. "Despite stable LFPR and falling unemployment rates, India's labour market faces deep structural challenges." Examine in the light of PLFS Annual Report 2025. 2. Discuss the rationale and implications of shifting PLFS to a calendar-year reference cycle. 3. Evaluate the trends in female labour force participation in India using recent PLFS data.

NSSO Employment-Unemployment Surveys — predecessor methodology.
Economic Survey 2025-26 chapter on employment — uses PLFS data.
Code on Wages 2019 & Industrial Relations Code 2020 — labour formalisation context.
e-Shram portal — registry of unorganised workers; complements PLFS.
ILO World Employment & Social Outlook — global benchmark.
Skill India Mission / NEP 2020 — supply-side response to educated unemployment.
Female Labour Force Participation debate — gender dimension.
NITI Aayog SDG India Index (Goal 8) — uses PLFS indicators.

Confusing PLFS (MoSPI/NSO) with EPFO payroll data or CMIE estimates — they use different methodologies and yield different unemployment numbers.
Mixing Usual Status (ps+ss) with CWS — different reference periods, different numbers.
Assuming PLFS still follows the July–June cycle — changed to calendar year from 2025.
Treating LFPR = WPR: LFPR includes the unemployed; WPR does not.
Attributing PLFS to Ministry of Labour & Employment — it is conducted by MoSPI.

[S1] Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report, 2025 [January–December 2025], PIB, MoSPI, 27 Mar 2026 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2246009 — (tier 1)
[S2] PLFS Annual Report 2025 — sectoral & wage data, PIB — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2246009&reg=3&lang=1 — (tier 1)
[S3] Changes in Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from 2025, PIB — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2128662 — (tier 1)
[S4] PLFS Quarterly Bulletin Jul–Sep 2025, PIB — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2188343 — (tier 1)