India's Unemployment Rate Holds At 5% In August As Rural Joblessness Eases

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: India's unemployment rate held steady at 5% in August, as a rise in urban joblessness was offset by an easing in rural unemployment, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS ) monthly bulletin released by the statistics ministry on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above rose to 6.8% in urban areas in August from 6.7% in July, driven by an increase among both men and women, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said.

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In rural areas, however, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in August from 4.5% in July. Rural male unemployment declined to 4.3% from 4.6%, while female unemployment fell to 3.9% from 4.3%.

Compared with August 2025, the overall and urban unemployment rates remained broadly stable, while the rural rate declined by 0.2 percentage point, from 4.3% to 4.1%, MoSPI said.

Participation edges higher

The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR) for people aged 15 years and above rose marginally to 55.6% in August from 55.4% in July, and was higher than the 55% recorded a year earlier.

The urban LFPR was unchanged at 50.4%, while the rural LFPR rose to 58.2% from 58% in July.

Female LFPR also increased, to 34.8% in August from 34.4% in July, and remained above the 33.7% recorded in August 2025.

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The overall worker population ratio (WPR) rose to 52.8% in August from 52.5% in July, driven by increased workforce participation in rural areas. Urban WPR was unchanged at 47%, while rural WPR rose to 55.8% from 55.4%.

Male WPR increased to 73.5% in August from the previous month and from the same month a year earlier, the survey said.

Overall decline

The overall unemployment rate among men aged 15 years and above declined for the third consecutive month, reaching 4.9% in August from 5.4% in May. Rural male unemployment fell in August to 4.3% from 4.6% in July, while urban male unemployment rose to 6.1% from 5.9%.

Among women aged 15 years and above, the overall unemployment rate declined for the second consecutive month, to 5.1% in August from 5.9% in June. Rural female unemployment also fell in August to 3.9% from 4.3% in July, while urban female unemployment remained broadly stable month-on-month at 8.9%.

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The PLFS, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), MoSPI, is the primary source of data on labour-force participation, employment and unemployment. Its methodology was modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour-market indicators.

The monthly bulletins provide estimates of the labour force participation rate, worker population ratio and unemployment rate at the all-India level using the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.

The August estimates are based on information collected from 370,160 people, including 211,363 in rural areas and 158,807 in urban areas.

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