Unemployment rate dropped to 5.1% in Jul-26 from 5.5% in previous month
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%).
Overall unemployment rate or UR among persons of age 15 years and above dropped to 5.1% in July, 2026 from 5.5% in June, 2026. In rural areas, the UR decreased sharply to 4.5% in July, 2026 from 5.0% in the previous month. During the same period, the urban UR remained almost steady at 6.7% compared to 6.6%. 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 to 6.7% in July, 2026.
Among male of age 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 point 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 female of age 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%).
Powered by Capital Market - Live News