India’s employment landscape remains broadly resilient, according to the Finance Ministry’s Monthly Economic Review for May 2025, which underscores sustained job creation, a steady rise in labour participation, and continued formalisation—despite a seasonal uptick in unemployment.
Citing data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the report said the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among those aged 15 and above stood at 54.8 per cent, while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.6 per cent in May, from 5.1 per cent in April. This marginal increase was attributed to seasonal factors, particularly a post-Rabi harvest slowdown, which led to a drop in rural employment in agriculture—from 45.9 per cent in April to 43.5 per cent in May.
The Ministry noted that academic transitions, weather-related constraints on outdoor work, and shifting economic patterns in rural areas were also contributing to temporary job dips. However, it stressed that the overall hiring outlook remains positive, bolstered by growth in key sectors.
White-collar recruitment showed modest momentum, with Naukri JobSpeak data reporting 0.3 per cent year-on-year growth. High-demand sectors included Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (up 25 per cent), insurance (up 6 per cent), and real estate (up 5 per cent). Demand for senior professionals with over 16 years of experience also rose by 6 per cent, reflecting robust hiring at the leadership level.
Hiring activity in manufacturing and services remained strong, with the PMI Employment sub-index touching 54.9 and 57.1, respectively—signifying multi-month highs and pointing to sustained expansion in both sectors.
The trend toward job formalisation also continued, with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) recording net subscriber additions of 19.1 lakh in April. Of these, nearly 58% were aged 18–25, indicating growing formal workforce participation among young jobseekers.
The review further noted that more than 30.9 crore unorganised workers have been registered under the e-Shram portal as of June 24, enabling access to social security benefits through a Universal Account Number (UAN)—a critical step toward inclusive labour welfare.
While the seasonal rise in unemployment highlights structural challenges, the Ministry maintained that the broader indicators point to ongoing labour market resilience, with digital sector growth, formalisation, and policy-driven inclusion acting as key anchors of India’s evolving employment ecosystem.