In the year 2025, India’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1% and it is the lowest level recorded in the last eight years. This numbers are as per the latest data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and it showcases the significant progress made towards the India’s commitment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As India, aims to achieve the full and productive employment by the year 2030.
India’s Unemployment Rate Reaches an Eight-Year Low
NSO data showcases that the India’s overall unemployment rate has steadily declined since the year 2017-18 and it has reached to 3.1% in 2025.
The fall in unemployment reflects the improvements in the employment generation, economic recovery, and increased labour market participation across the different sectors.
It also aligns with the India’s broader objective of to creating the sustainable employment opportunities and also promoting inclusive economic growth.
Despite the positive numbers in the UR, employment outcomes still varies significantly across the different states and the demographic groups.
Urban Female Unemployment Remains a Concern
One of the important findings of the NSO data is the uneven progress in women’s employment and particularly in the urban areas.
As the national urban female unemployment rate declined from 10.8% in 2017-18 to 6.4% in 2025 and several states have experienced the sharp rise in the female joblessness.
States With Higher Urban Female Unemployment
- Arunachal Pradesh: 18.4%
- Himachal Pradesh: 18.3%
- Bihar: 16.8%
- Nagaland: 15.7%
- Rajasthan: 14.6%
These figures indicates that urban women continue to faces the greater employment challenges despite the improvements in the overall labour market.
Bihar Registers the Sharpest Increase
Among the major states, Bihar has recorded one of the most significant increases in the urban female unemployment.
The state’ urban female unemployment rate rose from 6.2% in 2017-18 to 16.8% in the last year. Although,
Among major states, Bihar has recorded one of the most significant increases in the urban female unemployment. Bihar’s overall unemployment rate is nearly half during the the same period.
Similarly,
- Rajasthan has also witnessed the urban female unemployment rise from 9.9% to 14.6%.
- Himachal Pradesh recorded an increase from 13.7% to 18.3%.
- Jharkhand remained as the almost unchanged at around 11.8%.
- Assam has reported only marginal improvement and it declined from 11.4% to 10.4%.
States With Strong Improvement
There are several states, achieved remarkable progress in reducing urban female unemployment.
States Showing Strong Improvement
Several states, however, achieved remarkable progress in reducing urban female unemployment.
Top Performing State
- In the state of Kerala, it reduced from 27.5% to 6.7%.
- Maharashtra also improved significantly and took the numbers down from 11.5% to 3.8%.
- Gujarat has also cut the rate from 4.3% to 1.5%
- The state of Odisha and Karnataka have made significant progress.
The State of Gujarat’s performance is particularly notable as the its urban female unemployment rate is now almost at par with the state’s urban male unemployment rate.
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