India’s unemployment rate increased to 5.4% in April-June 2025, with rural areas and youth experiencing notable rises, highlighting ongoing regional and gender disparities in the labour market.
India’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4% in the April-June quarter of 2025, up from 5% in the previous three months, as rural joblessness climbed and added pressure to a labour market that remains uneven across regions and gender, according to official data released on Monday.
The latest figures from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, based on the current weekly status measure, showed rural unemployment increasing to 4.8% from 4.3% in the previous quarter, while the urban rate inched up to 6.7% from 6.6% a year earlier. The survey covered 133,425 households and 559,673 people aged 15 and above who were seeking work during the week before the fieldwork.
Labour market weakness was more pronounced among women and young people. Female unemployment rose to 5.7% from 5.3% in the previous quarter, while the male rate increased to 5.3% from 4.8%. Among those aged 15 to 29, joblessness climbed to 15.9% from 15%, with the female youth unemployment rate surging to 19.6% from 17.7%.
The state-wise picture also remained patchy. Chhattisgarh recorded the highest unemployment rate at 12.8%, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 9.1%, Kerala at 8.9%, Punjab at 8.5% and Andhra Pradesh at 7.4%. The quarterly reading follows monthly PLFS releases that showed some short-term volatility in the labour market, including a June rate of 5.6%, underscoring the contrast between persistent rural demand and higher urban joblessness.
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