Employment Data
India Dec unemployment rate 4.8%, labour force participation at 9-month high
This story was originally published at 16:52 IST on 15 January 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026
Please click here to read all liners published on this story
--MoSPI: India unemployment rate 4.8% in Dec vs 4.7% in Nov
--CONTEXT: MoSPI releases Periodic Labour Force Survey for December
--MoSPI: India rural unemployment rate 3.9% in Dec vs 3.9% in Nov
--MoSPI: India urban unemployment rate 6.7% in Dec vs 6.5% in Nov
--MoSPI: India labour force participation rate 56.1% in Dec vs 55.8% Nov
--MoSPI: India worker population ratio rate 53.4% in Dec vs 53.2% Nov
--MoSPI: India female labour force participation rate 35.3?c vs 35.1% Nov
NEW DELHI – India's unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in December for people aged 15 years and above from an eight-month low of 4.7% in November, according to the monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released Thursday. Joblessness rose in urban areas while remaining steady in rural areas in December.
The statistics ministry started releasing unemployment data on a monthly basis for rural and urban areas in the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) with the first data for April. Previously, the ministry only released quarterly urban unemployment data and data for urban and rural areas annually.
The unemployment rate in urban areas rose to 6.7% in December from 6.5% in November. For rural areas, it remained at the series low of 3.9% for a second month.
Unemployment rates for males and females aged 15 years or more rose in December. Among females, the rate increased to 4.9% in December from 4.8% a month ago. For males, it rose to 4.7% from 4.6% in November.
The labour force participation rate-–the percentage of persons working or seeking or available for work--rose to a nine-month high of 56.1% in December from 55.8% in November. The labour force participation rate was higher in rural areas at 59.0% compared with 50.2% in urban areas. The female labour force participation rate rose to a series high of 35.3% last month from 35.1% in November.
The worker population ratio, which is the percentage of employed persons in the population, for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 53.4% in December, also the highest since April, from 53.2% a month ago. End
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Rajeev Pai
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
