Nearly 44% of women who remained outside the labour force in 2025 cited child care and personal commitments in home-making as the primary reason, compared to a mere 0.5% of men who cited these reasons, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2025 released last week by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The data reveals the percentage distribution of persons not in the labour force (usual status) by main reason at the all-India level.
The gender disparity is more pronounced in urban areas, where 52.5% of females not in the labour force cited childcare and home-making commitments, compared to just 0.6% of males. In rural areas, the figures stood at 40% for females and 0.4% for males. Overall, child care and personal commitments in home-making accounted for 29.1% of all persons (both genders) not participating in the workforce.
Gender Divide
The PLFS 2025 also highlights that education remains the dominant reason for men staying out of the labour force. As many as 69.8% of males reported “want to continue studies” as the main reason, compared to 34.1% of females. For the total population, this reason stood at 46.5%.
Health or age-related reasons affected 17.9% of males and 10.5% of females overall. Lack of required training, qualification, or appropriate age for work was cited by 8.2% of males and 4.4% of females. Other factors such as non-availability of work at a convenient location, social reasons, and being financially well-off had relatively smaller shares, generally below 3-5 per cent across categories.
Earnings Paradox
The survey also revealed that women’s wages rose at a faster pace than men’s across all three job categories in 2025, despite their continued earnings disparity. Salaried job women experienced a 7.2% increase, self-employed women an 8.8% increase, and casual laborers a 5.4% rise compared to 2024. In contrast, male salaried job earners saw a 5.8% growth, while self-employed male earners experienced an 8% increase. However, male casual laborers’ earnings fell by 0.2%.
Notably, in salaried jobs, female earnings in 2025 were only 76% of male earnings. Women’s performance is particularly dismal in self-employment, where they earned only 36% of male earnings, as indicated by the PLFS data.
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above in usual status remained stable at 59.3% in 2025, with males at 79.1% and females at 40%. The LFPR for 15-29 years was 46%, against 46.3% in 2024. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) stood at 57.4%. The unemployment rate stood at 3.1% in 2025.
Under the usual status approach, the activity status is determined on the basis of the reference period of the last 365 days preceding the date of survey, the MoSPI said.
The PLFS, conducted by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI, is the primary official source tracking employment, unemployment, and labour force dynamics across India. The 2025 annual report, covering January to December, incorporates methodological updates introduced from the beginning of the year to provide more granular insights.