In May 2025 (Q2), the working age population (16 years and above) was around 8.5 million of whom around 4.5 million were employed, 710 thousand were unemployed, and 3.2 million were out of labour force. The labour force comprises 5.2 million people, which includes both the employed and unemployed population.
In May 2025, it was estimated to be 62.2 % which is 0.3 percentage points lower than the estimated value in May 2024 (62.5%). The rate of the population outside labour force increased slightly to 37.8 % in May 2025 (Q2) from 37.5 % in May 2024 (Q2).
Generally, the labour force participation rate has been higher among the male than the female population over time. In May 2025 (Q2), the gender gap in labour force participation rate was approximately 14.7 percentage points, it decreased by 0.3 percentage points as compared to the same quarter one year back.
Employment
The employment-to-population ratio (EPR) increased to 53.8 % in May 2025 (Q2) from 52.0 % in May 2024 (Q2). EPR increased for both males and females, by 1.3 and 2.2 percentage points respectively.
In May 2025 (Q2), males had a higher EPR (61.7 %) compared to females (46.8%). Additionally, the EPR was higher among adults aged 31 years old and above (57.4 %) than among youth aged 16-30 years old (49.1%).
The gender gap in the employment to population ratio was 14.9 percentage points in May 2025 (Q2) and it slightly declined by 0.9 percentage points as compared to May 2024 (Q2).
Unemployment
In May 2025 (Q2), the unemployment rate stood at 13.4 % indicating that roughly for every 7 persons in the labour force, there was one person unemployed. This reflects a 3.4 percentage points decrease compared to the same quarter one year back; and it was relatively lower as compared to the pre-COVID-19 estimate in the same quarter May 2019 (15.0 %).
In May 2025 (Q2), the unemployment rate was higher among females (15.3 %) compared to males (11.8 %). Youth also experienced a higher unemployment rate (15.4 %) compared to adults (12.1%). The unemployment rate was relatively similar in rural areas (13.3 %) and in urban areas (13.7%).
The gender gap in unemployment rate was 3.5 percentage points in May 2025 (Q2), and it decreased by 2.2 percentage points as compared to the same quarter one year back.
Labour underutilisation
The unemployment rate is not the only component of the unmet needs for employment. They are other components including time-related underemployment and potential labour force.
The labour underutilization rate stood at 57.1 % in May 2025 (Q2). It was higher among females (64.3 %) than among males (49.5 %) and slightly higher among youth (57.2 %) than adults (57.0 %).
The labour underutilization rate increased by 3.2 percentage points in May 2025 (Q2) as compared to the same quarter of the previous year.