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Informist, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026

 

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--MoSPI: India unemployment rate 5.1% in Jul vs 5.5% in Jun
--CONTEXT: MoSPI releases Periodic Labour Force Survey for July
--MoSPI: India rural unemployment rate 4.5% in Jul vs 5.0% in Jun
--MoSPI: India urban unemployment rate 6.7% in Jul vs 6.6% in Jun
--MoSPI: India labour force participation rate 55.4% in Jul vs 54.4% Jun
--MoSPI: India worker population ratio rate 52.5% in Jul vs 51.4% Jun

 

NEW DELHI – The unemployment rate in India for people aged 15 and above fell to a four-month low in July, mainly due to a sharp decline in the rural unemployment rate, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey released Monday. However, joblessness in urban areas rose to a four-month high.

 

The overall unemployment rate declined to 5.1% in July from 5.5% a month ago, survey results released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. Rural unemployment for those aged 15 and above declined to 4.5% from 5.0% in June. For urban areas, it rose to 6.7% in July, improving from 6.6% in June. "Compared with July 2025, the overall UR (unemployment rate) and rural UR remained broadly stable in July 2026, whereas the urban UR decreased by 0.5 percentage point from 7.2% in July 2025 to 6.7% in July 2026," the ministry said.

 

The unemployment rate for females aged above 15 years fell to 5.4% last month from 5.9% in June. The unemployment rate was higher for women in urban areas at 8.8% compared with 4.3% in rural areas in July. For males, the unemployment rate slipped to 5.0% in July from 5.3% a month ago.

 

Youth unemployment--relating to those aged 15-29 years--fell to 15.6% in July from 16.2% in June. Joblessness among the youth was higher in urban areas in July at 18.6% compared with 14.1% in rural areas.

 

The labour force participation rate-–the percentage of persons working, seeking, or available for work--rose to a four-month high of 55.4% in July from 54.4% in June. The labour force participation rate was higher in urban areas at 58.0% against 50.4% in rural areas. The female labour force participation rate improved to 34.4% in July from 32.7% a month ago.

 

The worker population ratio, which is the percentage of employed persons in the population, for persons aged 15 years and above, rose to a four-month high of 52.5% last month from 51.4% in June.  End

 

Reported by Shweta

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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