SYLLABUS
GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
Context: According to the latest PLFS Quarterly Bulletin released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 55.5% in July–September 2026, while the unemployment rate declined to 5.1% compared with the previous quarter.
About the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
- Conducting Agency: National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
- Objective: To measure key labour market indicators, including Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR).
- Methodology: The survey methodology was revamped in January 2025 to generate high-frequency employment and unemployment estimates for both rural and urban India.
- Current Weekly Status (CWS): Under this approach, a person’s activity status is determined based on their activities during the seven days preceding the survey.
- Frequency: The revised PLFS provides monthly estimates at the all-India level, quarterly estimates for rural and urban areas, and annual estimates under both Usual Status (PS+SS) and CWS.
- Historical Development: Earlier quarterly bulletins (up to December 2024) covered only urban areas.
- The April–June 2025 bulletin was the first to provide quarterly estimates for both rural and urban India.
- The July–September 2026 bulletin is the sixth in this series.
Key Findings of PLFS (July–September 2026)
- Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Overall LFPR (15 years and above) increased to 55.5% from 54.6% in the previous quarter.
- Rural LFPR rose to 58.1% from 56.9%, while urban LFPR increased marginally to 50.4% from 50.2%.
- Female LFPR improved to 34.7% from 33.2%.
- On a year-on-year basis, overall LFPR increased by 0.4 percentage points.
- Worker Population Ratio (WPR): Overall WPR increased to 52.7% from 51.7% in the previous quarter.
- Rural WPR rose to 55.6% from 54.2%, while urban WPR remained largely stable at 46.9%.
- Female WPR increased to 32.8% from 31.3%, while male WPR rose to 73.4% from 73%.
- Overall WPR improved by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.
- Unemployment Rate (UR): Overall unemployment declined to 5.1% from 5.4% in the previous quarter.
- Rural unemployment decreased to 4.3% from 4.8%, while urban unemployment increased marginally to 6.8% from 6.7%.
- On a year-on-year basis, urban male unemployment declined from 6.2% to 6.1%, while female unemployment fell from 9% to 8.8%.
- Youth Unemployment (15–29 years): Overall youth unemployment declined to 15.3% from 15.9%.
- Rural youth unemployment decreased to 13.6% from 14.7%.
- Urban youth unemployment increased to 18.9%, a six-quarter high, from 18.2%.
- Urban female and male youth unemployment increased to 26.1% and 16.5%, respectively.
- Employment Status and Nature of Work:
- Rural Areas: The share of self-employed workers increased to 62.7% from 61.4%.
- Urban Areas: Regular wage/salaried employment increased to 49.6% from 49.3%.
- Casual Labour: Its share declined in rural areas from 22.5% to 21.7% and in urban areas from 11.1% to 10.7%.
- Overall, the share of casual workers declined to 18.4% from 19%.
- Sectoral Distribution of Employment:
- Rural Areas: Agriculture’s share in employment increased to 56.7% from 52.9%.
- The secondary sector’s share declined to 21.9% from 24.4%, while the tertiary sector’s share fell to 21.4% from 22.7%.
- Urban Areas: The tertiary sector remained the principal source of employment, accounting for approximately 62% of urban workers.
- At the all-India level, agriculture’s share in employment increased to 41.7% from 38.7%.
- State-wise Unemployment:
- Highest: Kerala (8.7%), followed by Punjab and Andhra Pradesh (7.8% each).
- Lowest: Karnataka (2.8%), followed by Gujarat (3.2%) and West Bengal (3.4%).
- Kerala recorded the highest youth unemployment (28.9%), while Gujarat recorded the lowest (7.9%) among the reported states.
Estimated Employment: An average of 57.9 crore people aged 15 years and above were employed during the quarter, comprising 40.5 crore males and 17.4 crore females.