India’s unemployment rate rose to 5.6% in May 2025, up from 5.1% in April, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday. Unemployment was up in both rural and urban regions, with a sharp increase among the youth. In rural India, the jobless rate for those aged 15–29 climbed to 13.7% in May, up from 12.3% in April. In urban areas, youth unemployment rose to 17.9% in May from 17.2% a month earlier. The female unemployment rate was a touch higher at 5.8% compared to the male unemployment rate in May. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) i.e an estimate of the number of people actively engaged in the workforce, in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) stood at 54.8% in May 2025, down from 55.6% in April. Rural LFPR was higher at 56.9%, while urban LFPR was 50.4%. LFPR in CWS for male of age 15 years and above in rural and urban areas were respectively 78.3% and 75.1% during May, 2025 which marked a marginal decline from the corresponding LFPR estimates of 79.0% and 75.3% respectively for rural and urban areas during April, 2025. LFPR among female of age 15 years and above for rural areas was 36.9% during May, 2025. This was the second monthly release of India's labour force data covering both urban and rural areas. Previously, the government published employment data on a quarterly basis for urban regions and annually for both urban and rural areas. Asia's third largest economy, which expanded 7.4% year-on-year in the January-March quarter, is expected to grow 6.5% in the current fiscal year beginning April - broadly in line with the previous year's pace.