Snapshot: LFPR estimates (age 15+) of about 98.8% of districts and WPR estimates (age 15+) of around 98.3% of districts fall within the range of 40 - 80%. About 77.8% of the districts recorded UR (age 15+) estimates in the range of 0.5% to 5.5%. Among the 100 most populous districts, Surat in Gujarat recorded the highest levels of LFPR and WPR, while Darbhanga in Bihar recorded the lowest levels of LFPR and WPR. More than 75% of districts have NEET rates (age 15-29) under 30%.

Key findings (under usual status approach):

i. In the age group 15 years and above, among the 100 most populous districts:

(a) Surat in Gujarat (68.6%), followed by Araria in Bihar (68.0%) and Salem in Tamil Nadu (67.8%), recorded the highest LFPR.

(b) Similarly, Surat in Gujarat (67.8%), Araria in Bihar (67.4%), and Banaskantha in Gujarat (66.6%) registered the highest WPR.

(c) South Twenty-Four Parganas in West Bengal (0.9%), Araria in Bihar (0.9%) and Ahmedabad in Gujarat (1.1%) exhibited the lowest unemployment rate.

(d) Ernakulam in Keralam (9.6%), Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu (14.5%) and Bengaluru (Urban) in Karnataka (15.0%) reported the lowest NEET (not in employment, education or training) for youth age 15-29 years.

ii. Among the State capital districts (as per the States mentioned in Table 4):

1. Shimla in Himachal Pradesh (70.0% & 65.1%), Thiruvananthapuram in Keralam (64.4% & 63.2%) and Raipur in Chhattisgarh (61.5% & 59.4%) record the highest levels of LFPR and WPR in the age group 15 years and above.

2. Thiruvananthapuram in Keralam (1.9%), Kolkata in West Bengal (1.9%) and Bengaluru (Urban) in Karnataka (2.5%) exhibited the lowest UR in the age group 15 years and above.

3. Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (14.3%), Bengaluru (Urban) in Karnataka (15.0%) and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh (15.1%) reported the lowest proportions of NEET among youth (age 15-29 years).

Key highlights (under usual status approach):

1. Distribution of districts by key labour market indicators

Table 1 shows that district-level LFPR and WPR estimates, under usual status for age 15 years and above, are concentrated in the middle ranges, with over 98% of districts falling within the 40-80% bracket for both indicators, and only a negligible proportion recording values below 40% or above 80%. Within this bracket, the distribution differs slightly between the two: a majority of districts (52.7%) report LFPR in the 60-80% range, whereas a majority (54.3%) of districts report WPR in the comparatively lower 40-60% range.

Table 1: Distribution of districts across LFPR and WPR brackets
LFPR/ WPR range (in %)	% share of districts-LFPR	% share of districts-WPR
(1)	(2)	(3)
below 40	0.2	1.0
40-60	46.1	54.3
60-80	52.7	44.0
above 80	1.0	0.7

Table 2 shows that district-level unemployment rates, under usual status for age 15 years and above, are concentrated in the moderate range, with 43.1% of districts recorded UR between 0.5 and 3.0% and a further 34.7% between 3.0 and 5.5%, while relatively few districts reported either very low (below 0.5%, 7.2% of districts) or high (above 5.5%, 14.9% of districts) unemployment.

Table 2: Distribution of districts across UR brackets
UR range (in %)	% share of districts
(1)	(2)
below 0.5	7.2
0.5-3.0	43.1
3.0-5.5	34.7
above 5.5	14.9

Table 3 presents the distribution of districts across NEET ranges for youth aged 15-29 years under the usual status approach. The distribution of districts across NEET ranges shows that 45.9% of the districts recorded a NEET rate in the range of 20–30%. This was followed by 26.1% of districts with NEET rates between 10–20%. Further, 23.7% of districts recorded NEET rates above 30%, indicating that nearly one-fourth of the districts had relatively high NEET rates. At the lower end, 4.2% of districts recorded NEET rates below 10%. Overall, 76.2% of districts had NEET rates below 30%, while 23.7% reported rates above 30%.

Table 3: Distribution of districts across NEET brackets
NEET range (in %)	% share of districts
(1)	(2)
below 10	4.2
10-20	26.1
20-30	45.9
above 30	23.7

2. Districts with higher female LFPR and WPR

Table 4 presents, for each State, the district recording the highest female LFPR and WPR, selected from among the State's ten most populous districts, considering female population.

Table 4: State-wise districts with highest female LFPR and WPR
State	District with highest female LFPR (estimate in %)	District with highest female WPR (estimate in %)
(1)	(2)	(3)
Andhra Pradesh	Sri Satya Sai (59.1)	Sri Satya Sai (56.7)
Assam	Tinsukia (66.1)	Tinsukia (64.6)
Bihar	Siwan (24.7)	Siwan (24.3)
Chhattisgarh	Surguja (69.0)	Surguja (68.0)
Delhi	East Delhi (18.9)	East Delhi (15.7)
Gujarat	Kheda (55.6)	Kheda (55.4)
Haryana	Sirsa (42.4)	Sirsa (41.2)
Himachal Pradesh	Hamirpur (80.9)	Hamirpur (80.0)
Jammu and Kashmir	Budgam (71.4)	Budgam (69.6)
Jharkhand	Pashchimi Singhbhum (55.7)	Giridih (54.4)
Karnataka	Bijapur (47.0)	Bijapur (46.3)
Keralam	Thiruvananthapuram (52.0)	Thiruvananthapuram (49.9)
Madhya Pradesh	Dhar (59.6)	Dhar (59.5)
Maharashtra	Ahmednagar (51.9)	Ahmednagar (50.5)
Odisha	Mayurbhanj (71.8)	Mayurbhanj (71.2)
Punjab	Patiala (39.3)	Patiala (35.8)
Rajasthan	Dausa (60.9)	Dausa (59.6)
Tamil Nadu	Cuddalore (54.9)	Cuddalore (54.4)
Telangana	Jagtial (63.2)	Jagtial (62.5)
Uttarakhand	Tehri Garhwal (56.3)	Tehri Garhwal (55.9)
Uttar Pradesh	Ghazipur (53.4)	Ghazipur (52.9)
West Bengal	Paschim Medinipur (41.8)	Paschim Medinipur (41.2)

3. Top districts with lowest UR

Table 5 presents the ten districts that recorded the lowest UR, in the age group 15 years and above, selected among the 100 most populous districts at the all-India level.

Table 5: Districts with lowest UR
State	District	UR (%)
(1)	(2)	(3)
West Bengal	South Twenty-Four Parganas	0.9
Bihar	Araria	0.9
Gujarat	Ahmedabad	1.1
Gujarat	Surat	1.2
Uttar Pradesh	Bareilly	1.2
Uttar Pradesh	Bulandshahr	1.2
Gujarat	Banas Kantha	1.2
Karnataka	Belagavi	1.5
Maharashtra	Palghar	1.5
Maharashtra	Nanded	1.5

4. Top districts with lowest NEET rate

Table 6 presents the ten districts that recorded the lowest NEET rate, in the age group 15-29 years, selected among the 100 most populous districts at the all-India level.

Table 6: Districts with lowest NEET rate
State	District	NEET (%)
(1)	(2)	(3)
Keralam	Ernakulam	9.6
Tamil Nadu	Coimbatore	14.5
Karnataka	Bengaluru (Urban)	15.0
Jharkhand	Ranchi	16.5
Gujarat	Surat	17.2
Keralam	Thrissur	17.8
Gujarat	Vadodara	18.1
Maharashtra	Raigad	18.5
Maharashtra	Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar	18.6
Gujarat	Ahmedabad	18.9

Endnote:

A.  Introduction

Considering the need to generate high-frequency labour force indicators with enhanced coverage, the sampling methodology of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has been revamped from January 2025. Further, to maintain uniformity with the international practice of reporting labour force indicators, the survey period of PLFS has been shifted from the July–June cycle (i.e., agricultural year) to the January–December cycle (i.e., calendar year) from 2025. The modified PLFS sampling design is envisaged to address the following objectives:

• to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio and Unemployment Rate) on a monthly basis for rural and urban areas in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) at all-India level
• to extend the coverage of the Quarterly results of PLFS to rural areas and thereby producing quarterly estimates covering both rural and urban areas of India in the Current Weekly Status (CWS)
• to estimate important employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status (ps+ss) and CWS for rural and urban areas annually

The PLFS sampling design from 2025 onwards has considered districts as the basic stratum for the majority of the geographical area, thereby facilitating the generation of district‑level estimates. Prior to 2025, the PLFS sampling design was based on NSS Regions as the basic stratum and was therefore not specifically designed to generate district‑level estimates.

B.  Methodological caveats

This bulletin represents the first release of district‑level estimates under the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), based on the revised sampling design adopted from January 2025. The estimates presented herein are based on the sampling frame as constituted at the time of sample selection and may not reflect subsequent changes in district boundaries, bifurcation or nomenclature.

While the estimates provide valuable insights into labour market conditions at the district level, they are subject to the limitations inherent in sample surveys. Users are advised to exercise due caution while interpreting the estimates, taking into account the associated sampling variability and Relative Standard Error (RSE). It may be noted that comparison with earlier NSS-region-based estimates is not appropriate, as the present survey design is oriented towards district‑level representation.

C.  Conceptual Framework of Key Indicators

The bulletin presents key labour force indicators at basic stratum level namely, Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR) and persons Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). These indicators, along with the ‘Usual Status’ and ‘Current Weekly Status’ measurement approaches, are defined as follows:

1. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e., working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
2. Worker Population Ratio (WPR): WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons (i.e., persons who were engaged in any economic activity) in the population.
3. Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed (i.e., persons who, owing to lack of work, had not worked but either sought work through different channels or expressed their willingness or availability to work) among the persons in the labour force.
4. Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET): NEET is defined as the percentage of persons who are not in employment, education or training during the reference period in the population.   
5. Activity Status - Usual Status: The activity status of a person is determined on the basis of the activities pursued by the person during the specified reference period. When the activity status is determined on the basis of the reference period of last 365 days preceding the date of survey, it is known as the usual activity status of the person.

6. Principal activity status (ps): The activity status on which a person spent a relatively long time (major time criterion) during last 365 days preceding the date of survey was considered the usual principal activity status of the person.

7. Subsidiary economic activity status (ss): The activity status in which a person, in addition to his/her usual principal status, performs some economic activity for 30 days or more for the reference period of last 365 days preceding the date of survey, was considered the subsidiary economic activity status of the person.

8. Activity Status - Current Weekly Status (CWS): The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.

The bulletin on ‘Labour Market Snapshot of Selected Districts’ is available on the Ministry's website (https://www.mospi.gov.in).

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