A big revelation has come from the government data. To keep a real-time track of the ratio of unemployed to people available for jobs in the country, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation has released the first monthly periodic labour force survey.
Earlier, the labour force survey was released only on a quarterly and annual basis. But now, with the figures coming out every month, more accurate information about the situation will be available. So, what do these figures of April 2025 say? What is special about this for youth and women? Let’s know in detail.
Unemployment situation in April 2025
According to the recent weekly status data, the unemployment rate among people of all age groups during April 2025 was 5.1 percent. The unemployment rate among men was 5.2 percent, while it was 5 percent among women.
During the same period, the unemployment rate among people in the age group of 15-29 years was recorded at 13.8 percent across the country. The unemployment rate in urban areas was 17.2 per cent, while in rural areas it was 12.3 per cent. CWS means the status of activity as determined in the seven days preceding the date of the survey.
A total of 7,511 first-stage sample units were surveyed across the country during April 2025. The number of households surveyed was 89,434, while the number of individuals surveyed was 3,80,838. These figures present a worrying picture of unemployment in the country.
The unemployment rate of women in cities is much higher than that of men
The survey also revealed that the unemployment rate among women in the age group of 15-29 years was 14.4 percent across the country, while it was a shocking 23.7 percent in cities and 10.7 percent in villages. The unemployment rate in the country was recorded at 13.6 percent among men of the same age group, while it was 15 percent in cities and 13 percent in villages.
The data shows that the labour force participation rate of women among people aged 15 years and above was 55.6% in April 2025. The participation rate in rural areas was 58.0%, while it was 50.7% in urban areas.
The labour force participation rate among men aged 15 years and above in rural and urban areas was 79.0% and 75.3%, respectively. The labour force participation rate among women aged 15 years and above in rural areas was 38.2% during April 2025. These figures reflect the serious problem of lack of employment for young women in cities.