India Records Year-On-Year Rise In Employment In September As Unemployment Rate Falls To 5 Per Cent: NSO Data

New Delhi, October 15, 2026: India recorded an increase in the overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in September compared with the same month last year, reflecting a year-on-year rise in employment, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday.

The overall LFPR increased by 0.2 percentage points, from 55.3% in September 2025 to 55.5% in September 2026. During the same period, rural LFPR rose by 0.6 percentage points, from 57.4% to 58.0%, while urban LFPR registered a marginal decline of 0.2 percentage points, from 50.9% to 50.7%.

However, urban LFPR showed a month-on-month improvement of 0.3 percentage points compared with August, reaching 50.7% in September 2026.

Female Labour Force Participation

The overall female LFPR stood at 34.6% in September 2026, compared with 34.8% in August 2026. Urban female LFPR recorded a notable month-on-month increase of 0.5 percentage points, rising from 25.4% to 25.9% and reaching its highest level since October 2025.

On a year-on-year basis, overall female LFPR increased by 0.5 percentage points, from 34.1% in September 2025 to 34.6% in September 2026. Rural female LFPR rose by 1.0 percentage point, from 37.9% to 38.9%, while urban female LFPR remained broadly stable at around 26%.

Worker Population Ratio Improves

The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) remained broadly stable at 52.7% in September. Urban WPR reached its highest level since October 2025, at 47.2%. The improvement was reflected across genders, with urban male WPR rising from 70.7% to 71.0% and urban female WPR increasing from 23.2% to 23.5%.

On a year-on-year basis, overall WPR increased by 0.3 percentage points, from 52.4% in September 2025 to 52.7% in September 2026.

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Unemployment Rate Declines

The overall unemployment rate (UR) declined by 0.2 percentage points to 5.0% in September 2026 compared with the same month of the previous year.

The rural unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points, from 4.6% to 4.2%, during this period. The urban unemployment rate remained broadly stable at 6.8% in September.

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