Archive · 10 Aug 2026
India's unemployment rate stays almost flat in April-June: Govt survey
Every few months, the government of India counts how many grown-ups have jobs.
This count is called a survey.
The survey found that almost the same number of people were working as last year.
That means the job situation did not get much better or much worse.
About 5.5 out of every 100 people who could work did not have a job.
In big cities, a few more people found jobs than before.
In villages, the picture stayed about the same.
More women in villages were working than last year.
Most people who worked were men, but women are starting to work a little more too.
India's unemployment rate stood at 5.5% in April-June 2026, little changed from 5.6% a year earlier.
Urban unemployment declined to 6.6% in June 2026 from 7.1% in June 2025, while rural joblessness stayed broadly stable.
The worker population ratio remained unchanged at 51.4% in June 2026, up 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.
Female labour force participation was 32.7% in June 2026, with rural female LFPR rising to 36.6% while urban female LFPR eased to 24.8%.
On average, 56.6 crore people aged 15 and above were employed during April-June 2026 — 40.2 crore men and 16.4 crore women.
- Who
- India's Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the National Statistics Office (NSO), which conduct the Periodic Labour Force Survey.
- What
- Released labour force data showing the unemployment rate nearly flat at 5.5% in the April-June 2026 quarter.
- When
- April-June 2026 quarter; data for June 2026 was released on Monday.
- Where
- India, covering both rural and urban areas.
- Why
- To track employment and labour force participation nationwide; the results indicate no significant expansion or contraction in the country's job market.
- Unemployment rate (Apr-Jun 2026)
- 5.5% (vs 5.6% a year ago)
- Urban unemployment rate (Jun 2026)
- 6.6% (vs 7.1% in Jun 2025)
- Worker population ratio (Jun 2026)
- 51.4% (vs 51.2% in Jun 2025)
- Labour force participation rate (Jun 2026)
- 54.4%
- Female LFPR (Jun 2026)
- 32.7% (rural 36.6%, urban 24.8%)
- Employed persons aged 15+ (Apr-Jun 2026)
- 56.6 crore (40.2 crore male, 16.4 crore female)
- Survey sample size
- 5,59,673 persons surveyed