India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% in July 2026 from 5.5% in June.
Urban unemployment eased to 6.7%, while the rural jobless rate fell to 4.5%.
Highlights
- India’s unemployment rate declined to 5.1% in July from 5.5% in June.
- The July unemployment rate was the lowest in four months.
- Rural unemployment dropped to 4.5% from 5% in June.
- Urban unemployment remained higher but eased to 6.7% from 6.6% a year earlier.
- Female urban unemployment rose to 8.8% in July from 8.4% in June.
- The labour force participation rate for people aged 15 and above increased to 55.4%.
New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% in July 2026, compared with 5.5% in June, according to the latest monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The latest reading is the lowest unemployment rate recorded in four months.
The improvement was largely driven by a decline in unemployment in rural areas. Rural joblessness fell to 4.5% in July from 5% in June. A year earlier, the rural unemployment rate stood at 4.6%.
Urban unemployment, meanwhile, remained higher than in rural areas. The urban unemployment rate stood at 6.7% in July, broadly steady compared with 6.6% in June. On a year-on-year basis, urban unemployment improved from 7.2%.
Among men aged 15 years and above, the national unemployment rate declined to 5% in July from 5.3% in June. The rate was also lower than the 5.4% recorded in July last year. Rural male unemployment fell to 4.6% from 4.9% in June.
For women aged 15 years and above, the overall unemployment rate declined to 5.1% in July from 5.9% in June. Rural female joblessness improved sharply, falling to 4.5% from 5% in the previous month.
However, the situation remained challenging for women in urban areas. Urban female unemployment increased to 8.8% in July from 8.4% in June, although it remained broadly similar to the 8.7% recorded in July 2025.
The survey also showed an improvement in labour force participation. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for people aged 15 years and above increased to 55.4% in July from 54.4% in June.
The July PLFS bulletin was based on responses from 3,71,021 people surveyed across the country. The monthly data indicates an overall improvement in employment conditions, supported mainly by stronger labour market trends in rural India.
