The overall unemployment rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above remained stable at 5 per cent in September 2026, a government survey released on Thursday said.
According to the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) Periodic Labour Force Survey, the overall Unemployment Rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above remained steady at 5 per cent compared with August 2026. The UR was 5.2 per cent in September 2025.
Rural UR remained broadly stable at 4.2 per cent, up from 4.1 per cent the previous month, while urban UR edged up marginally from 6.8 per cent to 6.9 per cent. In September 2025, rural UR was 4.6 per cent and urban UR at 6.8 per cent.
Overall male UR among persons aged 15 years and above remained stable at 4.9 per cent in September 2026, compared with the previous month, continuing the downward or stable trend observed since June 2026.
Among females, the overall UR remained broadly stable at 5.2 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent the previous month. Rural female UR stood at 3.9 per cent, its lowest level in 2026, while urban female UR rose marginally from 8.9 per cent to 9.2 per cent.
Unemployment rates declined year-on-year for both genders, with rural female UR reaching its lowest level during 2026..
The NSO’s PLFS is the primary source of data on labour force participation and employment and unemployment conditions. The PLFS survey methodology was modified in January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from 3,70,513 persons surveyed.
According to the survey, the overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55.5 per cent in September 2026, up 0.2 percentage points from September 2025.
Similarly, the Urban LFPR increased to 50.7 per cent in September 2026, up from 50.4 per cent in August 2026.
Overall Female LFPR (15+ years) rose by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 34.6 per cent in September 2026. Rural Female LFPR increased by 1.0 percentage point to 38.9 per cent over the same period.
The Overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 52.7 per cent in September 2026.
