{
  "id": 8801921,
  "title": "Lanka’s employed population crosses 8 million in 2025",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/lankas-employed-population-crosses-8-million-in-2025",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-20T23:45:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/lankas-employed-population-crosses-8-million-in-2025/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2025, Sri Lanka's employed population reached 8,079,040, surpassing the eight million mark. The labour force participation rate stood at 49.4%, with males comprising 5,299,777 of the employed population and females accounting for 2,779,262. The overall unemployment rate decreased to 3.9%, down from 4.4% the previous year, as reported by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).\n\nMales accounted for a larger share of employed individuals, with a labour force participation rate of 69.1%, compared to 32.4% for females. The higher unemployment rate among females was attributed to 6.1% of employed females being unemployed, compared to 2.8% of males. Female unemployment among those aged 25 to 29 was particularly high at 17.1%.\n\nThe services sector remained the primary source of employment, constituting 49.8% of total jobs, up from 48.5% in 2024. The industrial sector contributed 26.2%, while agriculture accounted for 23.9%. This shift towards the services sector was reflected in the decrease in the agricultural sector's share of employment.\n\nThe average gross monthly salary for monthly-paid employees was Rs. 65,325, with males earning Rs. 70,942 and females earning Rs. 57,867. A significant number of employed persons held a second job, with 439,839 or 5.4% of the total employed population working multiple jobs.",
  "summary": "Female unemployment remains higher Services sector accounts for nearly half of jobs Monthly-paid males earn higher average salaries Literacy rate at 93.3% Sri Lanka’s employed population surpassed eight million in 2025, reaching 8,079,040, while the country’s unemployment rate declined to 3.9% from 4.4% the previous year, according to the latest labour force survey released by […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}