The 2025 tables
The first calendar year of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, read from its records: who works and who does not, at what, on what terms, for what pay and for how many hours; the schooling and training people carry; and what the young do. 114 tables, each cell with its standard error.
11,48,634persons surveyed, as MoSPI counts them
2,70,472households
114tables, in 12 sections
77 of 87figures MoSPI printed, reproduced
MoSPI, Periodic Labour Force Survey, January to December 2025, first-visit unit-level records 77 of 87 cells MoSPI printed match
- Source
- MoSPI, Periodic Labour Force Survey, January to December 2025, first-visit unit-level records: the primary unit-level records, weighted as MoSPI weights them
- Checked
- 77 of 87 cells MoSPI printed match at the printed precision (1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 5.2; 5.3; 3.4; 3.1; 3.3; 7.1; 3.5; 11.1; 8.1; 10.2; 10.9; 9.2)
- Methodological notes
- Calendar 2025 is the revamped monthly design; MoSPI warns that its estimates may not be strictly comparable with earlier rounds, and the observatory does not join them into a series.
- Shares and averages only: the survey’s weights sum short of the population projections, so no count of millions is given.
The sectionsTwelve rooms of the survey
Key indicators Participation, work and unemployment at every age, in usual and in current weekly status, and month by month. 10 tables States and Union Territories Every State and UT: the three rates, youth, the kind of work, its terms, pay, hours, schooling and training. 25 tables Education Schooling and technical education, the years in school, attendance, and work and unemployment at each level. 8 tables Social group and religion The three rates, and the kind of work people do, by social group and by religion. 9 tables Workers Status in employment, industry and occupation; the enterprise, its size and the place of work; the produce of the farm. 12 tables Conditions of employment Written contracts, paid leave and social security, for regular employees and casual labourers. 5 tables Earnings What work pays: wages and salaries, self-employment and casual labour, by education, occupation, industry, age and group. 9 tables Hours of work Hours worked in the week, long hours, and the work people wanted and did not have. 6 tables Youth The young between school and work: unemployment by education, those neither working nor studying, why they left school, coaching. 10 tables Vocational training Who is trained, in what, for how long, paid by whom and given by whom, and what training does for work. 12 tables Outside the labour force Why people neither work nor seek it, what they do instead, and why those who once worked stopped. 5 tables Unemployment How long the unemployed have looked, how they look, and unemployment by education in the current week. 3 tables
And 2025 beside 2024, as MoSPI's press note sets the two years side by side.
Every tableThe contents
Key indicators
- 1.1 Labour force participation rate by age, usual status (ps+ss)
- 1.2 Worker population ratio by age, usual status (ps+ss)
- 1.3 Unemployment rate by age, usual status (ps+ss)
- 1.4 Labour force participation rate by age, current weekly status
- 1.5 Worker population ratio by age, current weekly status
- 1.6 Unemployment rate by age, current weekly status
- 1.7 Persons aged 15+ by usual activity
- 1.8 Unemployment rate by month of survey, current weekly status, persons aged 15+
- 1.9 Worker population ratio by month of survey, current weekly status, persons aged 15+
- 1.10 Labour force participation rate by month of survey, current weekly status, persons aged 15+
States and Union Territories
- 2.1 Labour force participation rate, persons aged 15+, by State, usual status (ps+ss)
- 2.2 Worker population ratio, persons aged 15+, by State, usual status (ps+ss)
- 2.3 Unemployment rate, persons aged 15+, by State, usual status (ps+ss)
- 2.4 Labour force participation rate, persons aged 15+, by State, current weekly status
- 2.5 Worker population ratio, persons aged 15+, by State, current weekly status
- 2.6 Unemployment rate, persons aged 15+, by State, current weekly status
- 2.7 Youth unemployment rate (15-29) by State, usual status (ps+ss)
- 2.8 Youth labour force participation rate (15-29) by State, usual status (ps+ss)
- 2.9 Self-employed workers as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.10 Regular wage or salaried workers as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.11 Casual labour workers as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.12 Workers in agriculture, as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.13 Workers in manufacturing, as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.14 Workers in construction, as a share of all workers, by State
- 2.15 Regular wage employees without a written job contract, by State
- 2.16 Regular wage employees not eligible for paid leave, by State
- 2.17 Regular wage employees without any social security benefit, by State
- 2.18 Average monthly earnings of regular wage or salaried employees, by State
- 2.19 Average earnings from self-employment in the last 30 days, by State
- 2.20 Average daily wage of casual labour other than public works, by State
- 2.21 Average hours actually worked in the week, by State
- 2.22 Persons aged 15-59 with formal vocational or technical training, by State
- 2.23 Young people (15-29) neither employed nor in education, by State
- 2.24 Average years in formal education, persons aged 15+, by State
- 2.25 Young people (15-29) coached for entrance or employment examinations, by State
Education
- 3.1 Persons aged 15+ by level of general education
- 3.2 Labour force participation rate by level of general education, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 3.3 Worker population ratio by level of general education, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 3.4 Unemployment rate by level of general education, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 3.5 Average years in formal education
- 3.6 Persons aged 15+ by technical education
- 3.7 Currently attending an educational institution, by age
- 3.8 After primary school: whether persons went on to middle school
Social group and religion
- 4.1 Labour force participation rate by social group, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.4 Labour force participation rate by religion, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.2 Worker population ratio by social group, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.5 Worker population ratio by religion, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.3 Unemployment rate by social group, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.6 Unemployment rate by religion, persons aged 15+, usual status
- 4.7 Self-employed workers as a share of all workers, by social group and religion
- 4.8 Regular wage or salaried workers as a share of all workers, by social group and religion
- 4.9 Casual labour workers as a share of all workers, by social group and religion
Workers
- 5.1 Workers by status in employment
- 5.2 Workers by broad status in employment
- 5.3 Workers by broad industry
- 5.4 Workers by industry section (NIC-2008)
- 5.5 Workers by occupation (NCO-2015 division)
- 5.6 Workers outside crop farming, by type of enterprise
- 5.7 Workers outside crop farming in proprietary and partnership enterprises
- 5.8 Workers outside crop farming, by number of workers in the enterprise
- 5.9 Workers outside crop farming, by place of work
- 5.10 Self-employed in farming, forestry, fishing and mining, by what is done with the produce
- 5.11 Workers by how long they have been in their principal work
- 5.12 Workers with a subsidiary activity
Earnings
- 7.1 Average earnings, by kind of work
- 7.2 Average monthly earnings of regular wage employees, by level of education
- 7.3 Average monthly earnings of regular wage employees, by occupation
- 7.4 Average monthly earnings of regular wage employees, by industry
- 7.5 Average monthly earnings of regular wage employees, by age
- 7.6 Average monthly earnings of regular wage employees, by social group
- 7.7 Average daily wage of casual labour other than public works, by industry
- 7.8 The spread of regular wage earnings: monthly earnings at each point of the distribution
- 7.9 Average earnings from self-employment in the last 30 days, by industry
Hours of work
- 8.1 Average hours actually worked in the week, by status in employment
- 8.2 Workers by hours actually worked in the week
- 8.3 Workers who worked more than 48 hours in the week
- 8.4 Workers available for more work than they had
- 8.5 Hours of more work the underemployed were available for, in the week
- 8.6 Average hours actually worked in the week, by industry
Youth
- 9.1 Youth unemployment rate by level of education, ages 15-29, usual status
- 9.2 Young people neither employed nor in education
- 9.3 Young people neither employed nor in education, by what they do
- 9.4 Young people (15-29) by work and education
- 9.5 Why young people left education
- 9.6 Young people coached for entrance or employment examinations, by age
- 9.7 Young people (15-29) coached for entrance or employment examinations, by education
- 9.8 Young workers (15-29) by broad status in employment
- 9.9 Unemployed young people by how long they have been seeking work
- 9.10 Youth unemployment rate by social group, ages 15-29, usual status
Vocational training
- 10.1 Persons aged 15-59 by vocational or technical training received
- 10.2 Persons with formal vocational or technical training, by age
- 10.3 Persons aged 15-59 with formal vocational or technical training, by education
- 10.4 The formally trained by field of training
- 10.5 The formally trained by length of training
- 10.6 The formally trained by type of training
- 10.7 The formally trained by who paid for it
- 10.8 The formally trained by who gave it
- 10.9 Worker population ratio of persons aged 15-59, by vocational training
- 10.10 Labour force participation rate of persons aged 15-59, by vocational training
- 10.11 Unemployment rate of persons aged 15-59, by vocational training
- 10.12 Unemployment rate of the formally trained (15-59), by field of training
Outside the labour force
- 11.1 Persons out of the labour force by main reason, all ages
- 11.2 Persons aged 15+ out of the labour force by main reason
- 11.3 Persons aged 15+ out of the labour force by activity
- 11.4 Persons aged 15+ not working in the year who had worked before
- 11.5 Why people who had worked before were not working in the year
CheckedAgainst MoSPI's print
Every figure of MoSPI's press note on the PLFS Annual Report 2025 that these tables also compute, set against the observatory's value at the printed decimal. 77 of 87 agree. Where one does not, the observatory's value stands, and the reason it differs is given: the press note does not say how it counts, or rounds twice.
| Table | Figure | MoSPI printed | The observatory | Agrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | 15 and above, everyone, all India | 59.3 | 59.3 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, men, all India | 79.1 | 79.1 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, women, all India | 40.0 | 40.0 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, everyone, all India | 57.4 | 57.4 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, men, all India | 76.6 | 76.6 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, women, all India | 38.8 | 38.8 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, everyone, all India | 3.1 | 3.1 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, men, all India | 3.1 | 3.1 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, women, all India | 3.1 | 3.1 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, men, rural | 80.5 | 80.5 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, women, rural | 45.9 | 45.9 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, everyone, rural | 62.8 | 62.8 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, men, urban | 76.2 | 76.2 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, women, urban | 27.7 | 27.7 | yes |
| 1.1 | 15 and above, everyone, urban | 52.2 | 52.2 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, men, rural | 78.4 | 78.4 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, women, rural | 44.9 | 44.9 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, everyone, rural | 61.2 | 61.2 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, men, urban | 73.0 | 73.0 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, women, urban | 25.9 | 25.9 | yes |
| 1.2 | 15 and above, everyone, urban | 49.7 | 49.7 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, men, rural | 2.6 | 2.6 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, women, rural | 2.1 | 2.1 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, everyone, rural | 2.4 | 2.4 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, men, urban | 4.2 | 4.2 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, women, urban | 6.4 | 6.4 | yes |
| 1.3 | 15 and above, everyone, urban | 4.8 | 4.8 | yes |
| 5.2 | Self-employed, men, all India | 52.0 | 52.0 | yes |
| 5.2 | Regular wage or salaried, men, all India | 26.5 | 26.5 | yes |
| 5.2 | Casual labour, men, all India | 21.6 | 21.6 | yes |
| 5.2 | Self-employed, women, all India | 64.2 | 64.2 | yes |
| 5.2 | Regular wage or salaried, women, all India | 18.2 | 18.2 | yes |
| 5.2 | Casual labour, women, all India | 17.6 | 17.6 | yes |
| 5.2 | Self-employed, everyone, all India | 56.2 | 56.2 | yes |
| 5.2 | Regular wage or salaried, everyone, all India | 23.6 | 23.6 | yes |
| 5.2 | Casual labour, everyone, all India | 20.2 | 20.2 | yes |
| 5.3 | Agriculture, everyone, all India | 43.0 | 43.0 | yes |
| 5.3 | Mining and quarrying, everyone, all India | 0.3 | 0.3 | yes |
| 5.3 | Manufacturing, everyone, all India | 12.1 | 12.1 | yes |
| 5.3 | Electricity, water and the like, everyone, all India | 0.7 | 0.7 | yes |
| 5.3 | Construction, everyone, all India | 12.0 | 12.0 | yes |
| 5.3 | Trade, hotels and restaurants, everyone, all India | 12.9 | 12.9 | yes |
| 5.3 | Transport, storage and communication, everyone, all India | 5.8 | 5.8 | yes |
| 5.3 | Other services, everyone, all India | 13.1 | 13.1 | yes |
| 3.4 | Secondary and above, everyone, all India | 6.5 | 6.5 | yes |
| 3.1 | Secondary and above, everyone, all Indiathe press note does not say of whom its share is taken; of all persons aged 15+ the observatory finds 42.4 (rural 35.2, urban 57.1), of those with formal schooling 54.4, and no other reading tried gives 67.8, 61.9 and 79.7 together (middle and above, nine years of schooling and more, the labour force, the 15-29 and 15-59 age groups) | 67.8 | 42.4 | no |
| 3.1 | Secondary and above, everyone, ruralthe press note does not say of whom its share is taken; of all persons aged 15+ the observatory finds 42.4 (rural 35.2, urban 57.1), of those with formal schooling 54.4, and no other reading tried gives 67.8, 61.9 and 79.7 together (middle and above, nine years of schooling and more, the labour force, the 15-29 and 15-59 age groups) | 61.9 | 35.2 | no |
| 3.1 | Secondary and above, everyone, urbanthe press note does not say of whom its share is taken; of all persons aged 15+ the observatory finds 42.4 (rural 35.2, urban 57.1), of those with formal schooling 54.4, and no other reading tried gives 67.8, 61.9 and 79.7 together (middle and above, nine years of schooling and more, the labour force, the 15-29 and 15-59 age groups) | 79.7 | 57.1 | no |
| 3.3 | Diploma or certificate, men, all India | 82.7 | 82.7 | yes |
| 3.3 | Graduate, men, all India | 79.1 | 79.1 | yes |
| 3.3 | Postgraduate and above, men, all India | 83.1 | 83.1 | yes |
| 7.1 | Regular wage or salaried: a month, men, all India | 24217 | 24,217 | yes |
| 7.1 | Regular wage or salaried: a month, women, all India | 18353 | 18,353 | yes |
| 7.1 | Self-employed: the last 30 days, men, all India | 17914 | 17,914 | yes |
| 7.1 | Self-employed: the last 30 days, women, all India | 6374 | 6,374 | yes |
| 7.1 | Casual labour other than public works: a day, men, all Indiathe press note does not say how it counts a casual labourer's days; the week's wages from casual work other than public works over its days gives 489.5 (men) and 324.2 (women), and no other count tried (days of any work, half days of four hours or less, the first activity of a day, a mean of each labourer's own daily wage, CWS casual labourers only) gives 455 and 315 | 455 | 489 | no |
| 7.1 | Casual labour other than public works: a day, women, all Indiathe press note does not say how it counts a casual labourer's days; the week's wages from casual work other than public works over its days gives 489.5 (men) and 324.2 (women), and no other count tried (days of any work, half days of four hours or less, the first activity of a day, a mean of each labourer's own daily wage, CWS casual labourers only) gives 455 and 315 | 315 | 324 | no |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, everyone, all India | 10.0 | 10.0 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, men, all India | 10.2 | 10.2 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, women, all India | 9.9 | 9.9 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, men, rural | 9.6 | 9.6 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, women, rural | 9.2 | 9.2 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, everyone, rural | 9.4 | 9.4 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, men, urban | 11.2 | 11.2 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, women, urban | 10.9 | 10.9 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 15 and above, everyone, urbanprinted 11.1 (a data label of figure 7); the observatory's 11.048 rounds to 11.0, and to 11.1 only if rounded to two decimals first (11.05), as the Annual Report's Statement 7 cells the observatory's structural transformation series reports 0.1 off; the urban men's and women's cells beside it (11.2 and 10.9) reproduce | 11.1 | 11.0 | no |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, everyone, all India | 9.8 | 9.8 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, men, all India | 10.0 | 10.0 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, women, all India | 9.5 | 9.5 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, men, rural | 9.3 | 9.3 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, women, rural | 8.6 | 8.6 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, everyone, rural | 9.0 | 9.0 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, men, urban | 11.2 | 11.2 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, women, urban | 10.8 | 10.8 | yes |
| 3.5 | Aged 25 and above, everyone, urban | 11.0 | 11.0 | yes |
| 11.1 | To continue studying, men, all India | 69.8 | 69.8 | yes |
| 11.1 | Child care, or personal commitments in home-making, women, all India | 44.4 | 44.4 | yes |
| 8.1 | Self-employed, men less women, urban | 17.5 | 17.51 | yes |
| 8.1 | Self-employed, men less women, rural | 12.3 | 12.32 | yes |
| 8.1 | Regular wage or salaried, men less women, all Indiathe self-employed gaps reproduce (17.5 urban, 12.3 rural) with workers taken by their usual status; the regular and casual gaps the press note prints for all-India (7.9 and 6.9) are not given by that reading (7.5, 7.5), by CWS status (7.5, 6.6) or by principal status (7.2, 7.0) | 7.9 | 7.45 | no |
| 8.1 | Casual labour, men less women, all Indiathe self-employed gaps reproduce (17.5 urban, 12.3 rural) with workers taken by their usual status; the regular and casual gaps the press note prints for all-India (7.9 and 6.9) are not given by that reading (7.5, 7.5), by CWS status (7.5, 6.6) or by principal status (7.2, 7.0) | 6.9 | 7.55 | no |
| 10.2 | 15-59, everyone, all India | 4.2 | 4.2 | yes |
| 10.2 | 15-29, everyone, all India | 5.0 | 5.0 | yes |
| 10.9 | Formal training, men, all India | 83.3 | 83.3 | yes |
| 10.9 | Formal training, women, all India | 51.4 | 51.4 | yes |
| 9.2 | 15-24, everyone, all IndiaMoSPI's first NEET prints no definition: not employed (ps+ss) and not attending gives 22.1 at 15-24 and 26.0 at 15-29, and no exclusion of training tried gives both printed cells | 21.0 | 22.1 | no |
| 9.2 | 15-29, everyone, all IndiaMoSPI's first NEET prints no definition: not employed (ps+ss) and not attending gives 22.1 at 15-24 and 26.0 at 15-29, and no exclusion of training tried gives both printed cells | 25.0 | 26.0 | no |
10 figures do not agree; each says why beneath it.
Computed by the India Labour Observatory from MoSPI's unit-level records of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, January to December 2025; Release 2026.10. Every table, unrounded and with its standard errors: plfs-2025-tables.csv.