India's Unemployment Rate Falls To 5.1% In July-September 2026: PLFS

New Delhi, Nov 11 (KNN) India's unemployment rate declined to 5.1 per cent in July-September 2026 from 5.4 per cent in the previous quarter, driven by a decline in rural unemployment, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate in rural areas fell to 4.3 per cent from 4.8 per cent in April-June 2026. However, the urban unemployment rate edged up to 6.8 per cent from 6.7 per cent during the same period.

Labour Force Participation And Employment Ratios Improve

The survey showed an improvement in labour force participation, with the share of people aged 15 years and above who were either employed or seeking employment rising to 55.5 per cent from 54.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

Rural labour force participation increased to 58.1 per cent from 56.9 per cent, while the urban rate rose marginally to 50.4 per cent from 50.2 per cent, reported ANI.

The worker population ratio (WPR), which measures the proportion of employed persons in the population, also improved to 52.7 per cent from 51.7 per cent.

In rural areas, the WPR increased to 55.6 per cent from 54.2 per cent, while the urban ratio remained unchanged at 46.9 per cent.

Women's Labour Force Participation Improves

The survey recorded an improvement in women's participation in the labour market, with the female labour force participation rate rising to 34.7 per cent from 33.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

The proportion of women who were employed also increased to 32.8 per cent from 31.3 per cent during the same period.

Rural Employment Shifts Towards Agriculture And Self-Employment

Meanwhile, the share of rural workers engaged in agriculture rose to 56.7 per cent in July-September from 52.9 per cent in April-June 2026.

The proportion of self-employed workers in rural areas increased to 62.7 per cent from 61.4 per cent. In urban areas, the share of workers in regular wage or salaried employment edged up to 49.6 per cent from 49.3 per cent.

According to MoSPI, an estimated 57.9 crore people aged 15 years and above were employed in India on average during July-September 2026, including 40.5 crore men and 17.4 crore women.

(KNN Bureau)