25th PLFS Bulletin: Urban Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.4% in Q3FY25

Current Context: On 18th February 2025, The National Statistics Office (NSO) has released the 25th Quarterly Bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-2025 (Q3FY25).

• which covers the months of October to December 2024.

Here are the key highlights:

• Urban Unemployment Rate: The overall urban unemployment rate in India slightly decreased to 6.4% in Q3FY25 from 6.5% in the same quarter of the previous year (Q3FY24).
• Gender Breakdown: The unemployment rate for men remained steady at 5.8%, while the unemployment rate for women improved to 8.1% from 8.6% in the previous year.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): The LFPR in urban areas increased to 50.4%, indicating a higher proportion of the urban population is either employed or actively seeking employment.

Question:

Q.1 What was the overall urban unemployment rate in India for Q3FY25, as per the 25th Quarterly Bulletin of the PLFS?
A) 6.2%
B) 6.4%
C) 6.5%
D) 6.8%

Answer b): The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that the urban unemployment rate in India for Q3FY25 (October-December 2024) was 6.4%, showing a slight decline from 6.5% in the same quarter of the previous year (Q3FY24).