Unemployment in India Rises Slightly to 5% in January: Government Survey
The unemployment rate in India among individuals aged 15 years and above saw a slight increase to 5% in January this year, up from 4.8% in December 2025, as per a recent government survey.
According to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the joblessness rate recorded a marginal uptick in January in both rural and urban areas. The data also revealed a decrease in the labor force participation rate (LFPR) and workers population ratio (WPR) across rural and urban regions.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation explained in a statement that the decline in LFPR and WPR, coupled with the rise in UR in January, was predominantly driven by rural factors, including seasonal influences, post-harvest slack, and discouragement effects.
Various activities such as construction, agriculture allied work, transport, and small trade experienced slowdowns during the winter, particularly in rural areas. Urban areas, on the other hand, remained relatively stable during this period.
The pace of joblessness among individuals aged 15 years and above rose to 5% in January 2026 from 4.8% in December last year. The rural unemployment rate increased from 3.9% to 4.2%, while the urban unemployment rate rose from 6.7% to 7.0% between December 2025 and January 2026.
While the unemployment rate among males aged 15 years and above remained stable in January 2026, there was a higher rate of unemployment among females in the same age group during this period.
Female unemployment rate remained within the range observed from April to December 2025, indicating a short-term increase rather than a significant deterioration in female labor market conditions.
The overall LFPR among individuals aged 15 years and above was reported at 55.9% in January, slightly lower than the 56.1% recorded in December 2025. Rural LFPR also declined to 58.7% last month from 59.0% in December 2025, while urban LFPR stood at 50.3% in January 2026 compared to 50.2% in December 2025.
Female labor force participation rate in January was 35.1%, with rural areas seeing a rate of 39.7% and urban areas at 25.5% during the same period. Female LFPR remained steady with minor fluctuations across rural and urban regions.
The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among individuals aged 15 years and above showed stability in January 2026. Following a gradual increase in rural WPR from June 2025 (53.3%) to December 2025 (56.7%), there was a slight decline to 56.2% in January 2026.
In rural areas, male and female WPR stood at 75.7% and 38.0%, respectively, in January, compared to 76.0% and 38.6% in the previous month. Urban WPR remained steady across genders at 70.5% for males, 23.0% for females, and 46.8% overall in January.
At the national level, the monthly estimates are based on data collected from 373,158 individuals surveyed. The PLFS conducted by NSO serves as the primary data source on activity participation, employment, and unemployment conditions of the population.
The survey methodology has been updated since January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labor force indicators for the country. Monthly bulletins from April 2025 to December 2025 have already been released, with the latest bulletin for January 2026 being the tenth in the series.
