India's unemployment rises marginally to 5.2% in Sept

The rise in unemployment comes after two consecutive months of decline, with rural areas seeing a jump from 4.3% to 4.6%, while urban unemployment inched up from 6.7% to 6.8%.

Among urban females, the unemployment rate rose to 9.3% from 8.9%, contributing to the overall increase in female UR from 5.2% in August to 5.5% in September.

Male unemployment also saw a moderate uptick across rural (4.7%) and urban areas (6.0%).

Despite the marginal rise in unemployment, the labour market shows signs of strengthening.

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for those aged 15 and above reached a five-month high of 55.3% in September, up from 54.2% in June.

Rural LFPR increased steadily to 57.4%, while urban LFPR remained stable at 50.9%.

Female participation continues to drive growth in the workforce.

Overall female LFPR climbed to 34.1% in September, with rural female participation rising to 37.9%, marking three consecutive months of increase.

This trend has contributed to a rise in the overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which reached 52.4% in September, the highest level since May 2025.

Female WPR also improved steadily to 32.3%, with rural female workforce participation at 36.3%.

The PLFS survey, which now provides monthly and quarterly labour market estimates under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach, collected data from 3,75,703 individuals across India, including 2,15,051 in rural areas and 1,60,652 in urban areas.