Unemployment rate dips to 5.1% in July, says govt

Overall unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1% in July 2026 from 5.5% in the previous month, according to a government survey.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO), released on Monday, the Unemployment Rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above was 4.5% in rural areas, down from 5% in the previous month. The urban UR remained almost steady at 6.7% in July 2026 compared to 6.6% in June 2026.

Compared with July 2025, the overall UR and rural UR remained broadly stable in July 2026, whereas the urban UR decreased by 0.5 percentage point from 7.2% in July 2025.

Rural UR across genders and urban male UR declined, it stated.

Among males aged 15 years and above, the overall UR declined from 5.3% in June 2026 to 5.0% in July 2026. This is also lower by 0.3 percentage points as compared to July 2025 (5.3%).

The rural male UR declined from 4.9% in June 2026 to 4.6% in July 2026 and was at the same level observed in July, 2025. While the urban male UR maintained broad stability in comparison with the previous month, it declined by 0.7 percentage point to 5.9% in July 2026 against 6.6% in July, 2025.

For females aged 15 years and above, the overall and rural UR in July 2026 decreased in comparison to June 2026. However, it remained above the level observed a year ago in July, 2025.

The urban female UR increased by 0.4 percentage points to 8.8% in July 2026 from 8.4% in June 2026, while it remained broadly stable compared with the July 2025 level (8.7%).

The overall male and female UR declined in July, 2026 compared to June, 2026, it stated.

At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,71,021 persons surveyed.

The present Monthly Bulletin for July, 2026 is the sixteenth in the series.

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 55.4% in July, 2026, from 54.4% in June, 2026.

After declining from March to May, 2026 and remaining unchanged in June, 2026, the overall LFPR increased in July, 2026.

The same trend was also observed in rural areas, where the LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 58.0% in July, 2026, from 56.6% in June, 2026, registering an increase of 1.4 percentage points. In urban areas, LFPR increased marginally, from 50.1% in June, 2026 to 50.4% in July, 2026.

Compared to the same month of the previous year, the overall LFPR increased by 0.5 percentage point, from 54.9% in July, 2025 to 55.4% in July, 2026.

During the same period, rural LFPR also increased by 1.1 percentage points, from 56.9% to 58.0%, while urban LFPR experienced a marginal decline by 0.3 percentage point, from 50.7% to 50.4%.

The overall female LFPR experienced a noticeable increase from 32.7% in June 2026 to 34.4% in July 2026. During the same period, rural female LFPR increased from 36.6% to 38.8% and urban female LFPR increased from 24.8% to 25.3%.

Compared to July, 2025, the overall female LFPR increased by 1.1 percentage points, from 33.3% to 34.4% in July, 2026. In rural areas, female LFPR rose by 1.9 percentage points, from 36.9% to 38.8%, while urban female LFPR declined marginally by 0.5 percentage point, from 25.8% to 25.3%.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above showed a broadly improving trend in July, 2026 across sectors.

The overall WPR increased to 52.5% in July 2026 from 51.4% in June 2026.

In rural areas, WPR increased to 55.4% in July 2026 from 53.8% in June 2026, indicating an increase of 1.6 percentage points.

WPR in urban areas increased marginally to 47.0% from 46.8% during the same period. Notably, rural female WPR increased by 2.5 percentage points from 34.7% in June 2026 to 37.2% in July 2026, and urban female WPR increased from 22.7% to 23.1% during the same period.

A year-on-year comparison shows that overall WPR is higher by 0.5 percentage point in July 2026 (52.5%) against July 2025 (52.0%).

While the urban WPR was recorded at the same level (47.0%) during the period, the rural WPR witnessed an increase of 1.0 percentage point (55.4% vs 54.4%).

Female WPR in rural areas increased sharply to 37.2% in July 2026 from 34.7% in the previous month.