India’s unemployment rate holds at 5% in August as rural joblessness eases

Urban unemployment rose to 6.8%, but a sharper fall in rural joblessness kept the overall rate unchanged; labour-force participation also edged higher

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.

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.

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%.

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.

About the Author

Subhash is the infrastructure editor at Mint and tracks the momentous developments taking place in the space that is fast changing the Indian landscape. He finds reporting to be a passion that provides the necessary adrenaline rush and keeps you going.

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