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Unemployment declines by nearly 50%
Calling the reduction in unemployment a “positive sign”, the government said the rate has sharply dipped from 6.0% in 2017–18 to 3.2% in 2023–24.
“This indicates stronger workforce absorption into productive employment. In the same time frame, youth unemployment rate declined from 17.8% to 10.2%, placing it below the global average of 13.3%, as reported in the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2024,” it added.
The data revealed that unemployment among men (15+ years) decreased to 5% in August 2025, the lowest since April. “This drop was driven by a decline in urban male unemployment from 6.6% in July to 5.9% in August, while rural male unemployment eased to 4.5%- the lowest in four months,” the report added.
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India’s robust formal workforce
The government said the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has added more than 1.29 crore net subscribers in 2024–25, up from 61.12 lakh in 2018–19. The tracking system has recorded over 7.73 crore net subscribers since its launch in September 2017, including 21.04 lakh in July 2025 alone.
This indicates “growing formalisation and enhanced social security coverage. 9.79 lakh new subscribers were added in July 2025 (60% in the 18-25 age group alone), owing to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO’s successful outreach programs,” the government said.
The data also said that self-employment has also seen an uptick from 52.2% in 2017-18 to 58.4% in 2023-24, while casual labour fell from 24.9% to 19.8%, depicting a clear move toward entrepreneurial and independent work.
Overall, the employment in India rose to 64.33 crore in 2023-24 compared to 47.5 crore in 2017-18: which is a net increase of 16.83 crore jobs over six years.
“This growth is specially significant because from an economic standpoint, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) alone cannot fully capture a nation’s true development. A more accurate picture emerges when multiple macroeconomic indicators are considered- with employment being one of the most critical,” the Ministry of Labour and Employment said.