India’s unemployment rate experienced a slight dip in February 2026, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey, revealing key trends in urban, rural, and female employment sectors.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
Key Points
- India’s overall unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.9% in February 2026 from 5% in January 2026, according to the PLFS.
- The urban unemployment rate declined to 6.6% in February 2026, falling below the December 2025 level, while the rural unemployment rate remained stable at 4.2%.
- Female unemployment saw a decrease to 5.1% in February 2026, with declines in both urban and rural areas.
- The Labour Force Participation Rate remained stable at 55.9% overall, with a slight increase in the female LFPR to 35.3%.
Overall unemployment among persons aged 15 years and above fell marginally to 4.9 per cent in February 2026 from 5 per cent in January this year, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released on Monday.
After an increase in January 2026, the urban unemployment rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 6.6 per cent in February 2026, falling below the December 2025 level (6.7%), the survey stated.
Rural UR remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent in February 2026.
Female Unemployment Trends
In February 2026, the overall unemployment rate (UR) among females aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1 per cent, compared to 5.6 per cent in January, 2026. Decline was observed in both rural and urban areas.
The urban female UR decreased from 9.8 per cent in January 2026 to 8.7 per cent in February 2026, while the rural female UR declined from 4.3 per cent to 4.0 per cent during the same period.
The overall male UR remained stable at 4.8 per cent.
Labour Force Participation and Worker Population Ratio
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above remained unchanged at 55.9 per cent in February 2026, the same as recorded in January 2026.
In rural areas, the LFPR stood at 58.7 per cent in February 2026. The urban LFPR was estimated at 50.4 per cent in February 2026, showing a marginal increase from 50.3 per cent recorded in January 2026.
The overall female LFPR in the age group 15 years and above increased marginally from 35.1 per cent in January 2026 to 35.3 per cent in February 2026.
In rural areas, the female LFPR rose from 39.7 per cent in January 2026 to 40.0 per cent in February 2026, indicating an improvement in rural female participation, whereas the urban female LFPR remained unchanged at 25.5 per cent during the same period.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above remained broadly stable in both rural and urban areas in February 2026.
The overall WPR was estimated at 53.2 per cent in February 2026, in comparison to 53.1 per cent in January 2026. In rural areas, WPR stood at 56.3 per cent in February, 2026..
Similarly, the urban WPR observed as 47.0 per cent in February 2026, compared with 46.8 per cent in January 2026.
The all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,74,879 persons surveyed.
The PLFS conducted by National Statistics Office (NSO) is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population.
The PLFS survey methodology has been modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
