GUWAHATI: India's overall unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% in July-September 2026, compared to 5.4% in the previous quarter, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday November 10.
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The decline was primarily driven by a fall in rural unemployment, which dropped to 4.3% in July-September 2026 from 4.8% in April-June 2026.
However, urban unemployment remained largely unchanged at 6.8% during July-September, compared to 6.7% in the previous quarter.
On a year-on-year basis, rural unemployment remained largely stable at 4.3% in July-September 2026, compared to 4.4% during the corresponding period in 2025.
The urban unemployment rate stood at 6.8% in July-September 2026, marginally higher than the 6.7% recorded in the previous quarter.
On a year-on-year basis, urban unemployment registered marginal improvements among both male and female workers.
Urban male unemployment declined from 6.2% to 6.1%, while female unemployment fell from 9.0% to 8.8% during July-September 2026 compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The PLFS Quarterly Bulletin presents unemployment estimates under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework for persons aged 15 years and above across rural and urban India.
