India's Periodic Labour Force Survey August 2026 Results
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation released the seventeenth monthly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for August 2026, providing key labor market indicators based on the Current Weekly Status approach. The survey collected data from 370,160 persons across India, with 211,353 surveyed in rural areas and 158,807 in urban areas.
Labor Force Participation Trends
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 55.6% in August 2026 from 55.4% in July 2026, representing a 0.6 percentage point increase compared to August 2025's 55.0%. Rural areas showed particularly strong performance with LFPR reaching 58.2% in August 2026, up from 58.0% in July 2026 and significantly higher than the 57.0% recorded in August 2025—a 1.2 percentage point year-on-year increase. Urban LFPR remained constant at 50.4% in August 2026 compared to the previous month but declined marginally by 0.5 percentage points from 50.9% in August 2025.
Female Labor Force Participation
Female LFPR showed positive momentum, increasing to 34.8% in August 2026 from 34.4% in July 2026—marking the second consecutive month of growth. This represents a 1.1 percentage point increase from the 33.7% recorded in August 2025. Rural female participation drove this growth, reaching 39.4% in August 2026 compared to 38.8% in July 2026 and showing a substantial 2.0 percentage point year-on-year increase from 37.4% in August 2025. Urban female LFPR remained broadly stable at 25.4% in August 2026 compared to 25.3% in July 2026 but declined by 0.7 percentage points from 26.1% in August 2025.
Workforce Participation Ratio
The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) increased to 52.8% in August 2026 from 52.5% in July 2026, reaching the highest level recorded since March 2026. This represents a 0.6 percentage point increase from the 52.2% recorded in August 2025. Rural WPR showed significant strength, increasing to 55.8% in August 2026 from 55.4% in July 2026 and marking a 1.3 percentage point year-on-year increase from 54.5% in August 2025. Urban WPR remained stable at 47.0% in both July and August 2026 but declined by 0.5 percentage points from 47.5% in August 2025. Female WPR particularly improved, rising to 33.0% in August 2026 from 32.0% in August 2025.
Unemployment Rate Developments
The overall Unemployment Rate (UR) among persons aged 15 years and above declined marginally to 5.0% in August 2026 from 5.1% in July 2026 and remained broadly stable compared to August 2025. Rural areas showed notable improvement with UR decreasing to 4.1% in August 2026 from 4.5% in July 2026—the lowest level recorded since January 2026. This represents a 0.2 percentage point decline from the 4.3% recorded in August 2025. Urban UR remained almost stable at 6.8% in August 2026 compared to 6.7% in July 2026.
Gender-wise Unemployment Trends
Male UR declined for three consecutive months, reaching 4.9% in August 2026 from 5.4% in May 2026. Rural male UR declined from 4.6% in July 2026 to 4.3% in August 2026, while urban male UR marginally increased from 5.9% to 6.1% during the same period. Female UR declined for two consecutive months to 5.1% in August 2026 from 5.9% in June 2026, with rural female UR decreasing significantly from 4.3% in July 2026 to 3.9% in August 2026. Urban female UR remained broadly stable compared to the previous month. Year-on-year comparisons indicate that overall UR for both male and female remained broadly unchanged in August 2026.