The latest data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday revealed that the urban unemployment rate declined to 6.6% in Q1 (April-June) of FY25, from a four-quarter high of 6.7% in the preceding quarter.
The data highlighted that this was driven by a decline in the male unemployment rate.
As per the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the headline unemployment rate under the current weekly status (CWS) for men, where the activity status is determined based on the reference period of the past seven days preceding the date of the survey, stood at 5.8% during the quarter, down from 6.1% in the preceding quarter.
The female unemployment rate increased to 9% in Q1 FY25 from 8.5% in Q4 FY24.
As per the data, the jobless rate for youth (aged 15-29) also declined to 16.8% in Q1 FY25 from 17% in the preceding quarter.
The survey showed a marginal decline to 50.1% in Q1 FY25 from 50.2% in Q4 FY24 for the labour force participation rate (LFPR).
LFPR represents the share of people either working or seeking employment in the urban population.
LFPR for men showed greater enthusiasm for work, as it increased to 74.7% from 74.4% in the preceding quarter, women workers withdrew from the workforce as their LFPR declined to 25.2% from 25.6% in the previous quarter.
The survey showed that the share of people engaged in self-employment declined to 40% from 40.5% in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, the share of salaried workers and casual workers increased to 49% and 11%, respectively, during the quarter.
The share of female workers in regular work witnessed an increase to 54% from 52.3% during this period, it highlighted.
Further, the share of workers in the tertiary sector, which is the biggest employer in urban areas, rose to 62.4% in Q1 FY25 from 62.2% in the preceding quarter.
The share of workers in the secondary (manufacturing) sector also increased to 32.1% from 32% during this period.