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Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed that India’s job market remained largely stable in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal (Q1FY27), with both the unemployment rate and worker population ratio showing little year-on-year movement. The rate of unemployment, which measures the working-age population without jobs, stood at 5.5 per cent during the quarter, marginally lower than 5.6 per cent recorded a year earlier. The overall worker population ratio stood at 51.4 per cent in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month and slightly higher than the 51.2 per cent recorded in June 2025. The urban unemployment rate declined to 6.6 per cent in June 2026 from 7.1 per cent a year earlier, while rural unemployment remained broadly stable.  

The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR), which measures the working-age population engaged in jobs or actively looking for work, was unchanged at 54.4 per cent in June 2026 from the previous month and it was marginally higher than the 54.2 per cent recorded in June 2025. Female LFPR stood at 32.7 per cent in June 2026, slightly lower than 32.8 per cent in May 2026, but 0.7 percentage points higher than the 32.0 per cent recorded in June last year. The survey also found that the gender gap in rural labour force participation narrowed compared to urban areas.

In rural areas, female LFPR increased to 36.6 per cent in June 2026 from 35.2 per cent a year earlier, marking a rise of 1.4 percentage points. However, in urban areas, female participation moderated to 24.8 per cent from 25.2 per cent over the same period. The overall worker population ratio (WPR) in rural areas remained steady at 53.8 per cent, unchanged from the previous month and 0.5 percentage points higher than 53.3 per cent recorded in June last year.  Urban WPR also registered a marginal improvement, rising to 46.8 per cent in June 2026 from 46.6 per cent in the preceding month.