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Informist, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026

 

--MoSPI: India unemployment rate 5.0% in Aug vs 5.1% in Jul

--CONTEXT: MoSPI releases Periodic Labour Force Survey for Aug

--MoSPI: India rural unemployment rate 4.1% in Aug vs 4.5% in Jul

--MoSPI: India urban unemployment rate 6.8% in Aug vs 6.7% in Jul

--MoSPI: India labour force participation rate 55.6% in Aug vs 55.4% Jul

--MoSPI: India worker population ratio rate 52.8% in Aug vs 52.5% Jul

--MoSPI: India Aug unemployment rate of 5.0% lowest in 6 months

 

NEW DELHI – The unemployment rate in India for people aged 15 and above fell to a six-month low in August, mainly due to a decline in the rural unemployment rate, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey released Tuesday. Joblessness in rural areas declined to an eight-month low while that in urban areas was at a five-month-high.

 

The overall unemployment rate declined to 5.0% in August from 5.1% a month ago, survey results released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. Rural unemployment for those aged 15 and above slipped to 4.1% from 4.5% in July. For urban areas, it rose to 6.8% in July from 6.7% in June. "Compared with August 2025, the overall UR (unemployment rate) and urban UR remained broadly stable in August 2026, whereas the rural UR declined by 0.2 percentage point from 4.3% in August 2025 to 4.1% in August 2026," the ministry said.

 

The unemployment rate for females aged above 15 years fell to 5.1% last month from 5.4% in July. The unemployment rate was higher for women in urban areas at 8.9% compared with 3.9% in rural areas in August. For males, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.9% in August from 5.0% a month ago.

 

Youth unemployment--relating to those aged 15-29 years--fell to 15.1% in August from 15.6% in July. Joblessness among the youth was higher in urban areas in August at 18.7% compared with 13.3% in rural areas.

 

The labour force participation rate-–the percentage of persons working, seeking, or available for work--also rose to a six-month high of 55.6% in August from 55.4% in July. The labour force participation rate was higher in rural areas at 58.2% against 50.4% in urban areas. The female labour force participation rate improved to 34.8% in August from 34.4% 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 six-month high of 52.8% last month from 52.5% in July.  End

 

Reported by Shweta

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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