Unemployment Dips to 5% as LFPR Climbs to 55.6% in August: PLFS Data

Key facts

• India's unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above dipped to 5% in August 2026, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released in September 2026.
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) rose to 55.6% in August from 55.4% in July, driven mainly by rural India where LFPR increased to 58.2% from 58%, while urban LFPR stayed at 50.4%.
• Overall LFPR rose 0.6 percentage points year-on-year from 55% in August 2025, with rural LFPR up 1.2 points to 58.2% and urban LFPR down 0.5 points to 50.4%.
• Female LFPR rose to 34.8% in August from 34.4% in July; rural female LFPR rose 2 percentage points over the year to 39.4%, while urban female LFPR declined to 25.4%.
• The worker population ratio (WPR) increased to 52.8% in August from 52.5% in July, with rural WPR at 55.8% and urban WPR unchanged at 47%.
• Rural unemployment fell to 4.1% in August from 4.5% in July, while urban unemployment rose slightly to 6.8% from 6.7%.
• Male unemployment declined for the third consecutive month to 4.9% in August from 5.4% in May, while female unemployment fell for the second consecutive month to 5.1% from 5.9% in June.
• The National Statistical Office (NSO) surveyed 3,70,160 people for August 2026, including 2,11,353 rural and 1,58,807 urban respondents.