Overview
- The Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 56.1% in December, the highest since the monthly series began, and the Worker Population Ratio improved to 53.4%.
- The overall unemployment rate ticked up to 4.8% from 4.7% in November, with urban joblessness rising to 6.7% as the rural rate held at 3.9%.
- Female participation strengthened to 35.3% overall, led by rural areas where the female LFPR reached 40.1%.
- Youth unemployment for ages 15–29 increased slightly to 14.4% from 14.1% a month earlier.
- The figures use the Current Weekly Status approach from the revamped PLFS, based on a 373,990-person sample, and MoSPI cautions that monthly moves may reflect seasonality rather than durable trends.