1,148,634
Records analysed
Executive Summary
PLFS Microdata Report 2024–25
A comprehensive public analysis built from 1.15 million respondent records in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). This report surfaces the multidimensional structure of Indian labour: participation, work intensity, demographic inequalities, and policy relevance.
2024–25 (PLFS microdata)
Survey period
59.3%
All-India LFPR (15+)
57.4%
All-India WPR (15+)
3.1%
All-India UR (15+)
39.1 p.p.
Male–female LFPR gap
Why this matters
The dominant labour-market conversation often relies on headline unemployment alone. This observatory shifts the analytical lens to participation rates, employment quality, work intensity, demographic structures, and uneven vulnerabilities across gender, caste, religion, education, age, and geography.
The core finding: labour stress in India is distributed unevenly and often hidden inside aggregate improvements. By querying the microdata directly with survey-design weights, we reveal where structural strain is concentrated.
What the analysis covers
Headline Indicators
All-India LFPR, WPR, and UR with Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status (UPSS) and Current Weekly Status (CWS) comparisons.
Rural–Urban Divergence
Structural differences in female participation (45.9% rural vs 27.7% urban) and urban youth unemployment concentrations.
The Education Paradox
Steep positive gradient between education and unemployment: graduate UR reaches 11.2% while illiterate UR is 0.3%.
Social Stratification
Detailed breakdowns by Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, OBC, and General categories across regular salaried and casual work.
National Labour Data Bank
Filter, search, and download all 48 statistical matrices with dynamic D3 visualisations and instant CSV export.
Launch Data Bank →Visual Scrollytelling Story
Experience the interactive narrative with animated radar, gap, and distribution charts.
Open Interactive Story →Citation & Provenance
Kumar, Abhinav. (2026). PLFS Microdata Report 2024–25: Analytical Findings from Official Survey Microdata. India Labour Observatory. https://indialabourobservatory.com/stories/plfs-microdata-report-2024-25/