The unemployment rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 4.8% in the October–December quarter of 2025–26, the lowest print so far in the current financial year, according to the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday.
The unemployment rate, as per the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, recorded a consistent decline to 4.8% in Q3 from 5.2% and 5.4% in Q2 and Q1, respectively. The dip in unemployment was recorded across segments in the third quarter. The unemployment rate among men fell to 4.8%, while among women it declined to 4.9%.
Among persons aged 15–29 years, the joblessness rate reduced to 14.3%, from 14.8% and 14.6% in Q2 and Q1, respectively. In rural and urban areas, the unemployment rate stood at 4% and 6.7%, respectively. In urban areas, the UR among females aged 15 years and above during Q3 was 9%, compared with 5.9% for males in the same age group.
What does the CWS approach determine?
The CWS approach determines an individual’s activity status based on the seven days preceding the survey date. Under this method, a person is considered unemployed in a week if they did not work even for one hour on any day during the reference week but sought or were available for work for at least one hour on any day during the same period.
The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), defined as the percentage of the population in the labour force, for persons aged 15 years and above, increased to 55.8% in Q3 from 55.1% in Q2 and 55% in Q1. The LFPR among women recorded a sharp jump of 120 bps in Q3 to 34.9% from 33.7% in Q2.
On employment patterns
On employment patterns, the survey showed self-employment dominating in rural areas, rising to 63.2% in Q3 from 62.8% in Q2, while salaried jobs remained more common in urban sectors. The share of salaried employment in urban areas stood at 49.1% in the third quarter, lower than 49.8% in Q2. The share of self-employed in urban areas recorded a marginal rise to 39.7% from 39.3%. Overall, the proportion of self-employed persons rose slightly to 56.3% in Q3 from 55.8% in Q2, while the share of regular wage/salaried employees declined to 24.9% from 25.4% in Q2.
The survey further highlighted that the majority of the rural workforce (58.5%) was engaged in the agriculture sector, while in urban areas the tertiary sector remained dominant, employing 61.9% of workers.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which measures the share of employed people in the population, increased to 53.1% in Q3 from 52.2%, largely driven by higher female participation. The female WPR rose to 33.1% from 32% in Q2.