New Delhi: The unemployment rate in the country declined to 5.2% in July from 5.6% in June, a government survey said on Monday.

The unemployment rate in May was also 5.6%, said the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

The latest data collected under current weekly status (CWS) showed the unemployment rate for persons of all ages during July at 5.2%.

Joblessness among men stayed slightly higher at 5.3% compared to women at 5.1%.

In July, the UR in urban areas for all age groups inched up to 7.2% from 7.1% in June, while in rural areas it fell to 4.4% from 4.9%.

Joblessness among youth (15-29 years) decreased to 14.9% in July from 15.3% in June 2025. However, in urban areas for this group, the rate rose marginally to 19% in July from 18.8% in June, while in rural areas it declined to 13% from 13.8%.

CWS refers to activity status determined on the basis of the last seven days preceding the survey.

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in CWS among all age groups rose to 41.4% in July 2025 from 41% in June. In rural areas, LFPR was 42%, up from 41.5%, while in urban areas it stood at 40.1%, up from 39.8%.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas was 54.4% in July 2025, up from 53.3% in June. In urban areas, WPR for the same group was 47% in July. The overall WPR was 52%, compared to 51.2% in June.

Considering the need for high-frequency labour force indicators with enhanced coverage, the sampling methodology of PLFS has been revamped from January 2025.

At an all-India level, 7,519 first-stage sampling units were surveyed in July. The number of households surveyed was 89,505 (49,355 in rural and 40,150 in urban), and the number of persons surveyed was 3,79,222 (2,16,832 rural and 1,62,390 urban).