National Statistics Office data shows India's unemployment rate steady at 5% in September 2026

Key facts

• India's overall unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above remained stable at 5% in September 2026, as per the National Statistics Office (NSO) Periodic Labour Force Survey.
• The overall unemployment rate was 5.2% in September 2025, while rural unemployment stood at 4.2% and urban unemployment at 6.9% in September 2026.
• Male unemployment rate remained stable at 4.9% and female unemployment rate was broadly stable at 5.2% in September 2026.
• Rural female unemployment rate stood at 3.9%, its lowest level in 2026, while urban female unemployment rate rose from 8.9% to 9.2%.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55.5% in September 2026, up 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate rose 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 34.6%, and the Worker Population Ratio rose 0.3 percentage points to 52.7% in September 2026.
• The monthly estimates are based on information collected from 3,70,513 persons surveyed across India.