India's unemployment rate falls to 5.1% in July-September 2026, down from 5.4% in the previous quarter
KOHIMA — India’s unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% during July-September 2026 from 5.4% in the previous quarter, with rural areas recording a fall while the urban rate remained largely unchanged, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday.
The overall rural unemployment rate declined from 4.8% in April-June 2026 to 4.3% in July-September, while the urban rate stood at 6.8%, compared with 6.7% in the previous quarter.
The decline in rural unemployment was recorded among both men and women. The rural male unemployment rate fell from 4.8% to 4.4%, while the female rate declined from 4.7% to 4.1%.
In urban areas, the male unemployment rate edged down from 6.2% to 6.1%, while the female rate declined from 9% to 8.8%.
The survey also recorded an increase in the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which measures the proportion of the population that is either working or seeking work. The overall LFPR among persons aged 15 years and above increased to 55.5% from 54.6% in the previous quarter.
Rural LFPR rose from 56.9% to 58.1%, while the urban rate increased marginally from 50.2% to 50.4%. The overall female LFPR increased from 33.2% to 34.7% during the same period.
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The Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which measures the proportion of the population that is employed, also increased from 51.7% in April-June to 52.7% in July-September. The rural WPR rose from 54.2% to 55.6%, while the urban ratio remained largely stable at 46.9%, compared with 46.8% in the previous quarter.
The female WPR increased from 31.3% to 32.8%, while the male rate rose from 73% to 73.4%.
In terms of employment patterns, the share of rural workers engaged in self-employment increased from 61.4% to 62.7%. In urban areas, the share of regular wage or salaried workers rose from 49.3% to 49.6%.
The share of workers engaged in casual labour declined in both sectors. In rural areas, it fell from 22.5% to 21.7%, while in urban areas it decreased from 11.1% to 10.7%.
The sectoral distribution of employment continued to show distinct rural and urban patterns, with agriculture accounting for the largest share of rural employment and the tertiary sector remaining the main source of urban employment.
In rural areas, the share of workers engaged in agriculture increased from 52.9% in April-June to 56.7% in July-September. Meanwhile, the share employed in the secondary sector, including mining and quarrying, declined from 24.4% to 21.9%, while the tertiary sector’s share fell from 22.7% to 21.4%.
Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025, the rural unemployment rate remained largely unchanged at 4.3%, against 4.4% a year earlier. The share of rural workers engaged in the secondary sector increased from 21% to 21.9%, while the tertiary sector share remained broadly stable at 21.4%.