Ministry of Statistics Releases June 2026 Labour Force Survey Bulletin
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation published its fifteenth Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin for June 2026, providing key labor market indicators for India. The survey methodology was modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates, with this release based on data collected from 372,852 persons surveyed nationwide, including 212,390 in rural areas and 160,462 in urban areas.
Key Labour Market Indicators
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above remained unchanged at 54.4% in June 2026 compared to May 2026, representing a marginal increase of 0.2 percentage points from June 2025 (54.2%). Rural LFPR held steady at 56.6% month-over-month, while urban LFPR showed modest improvement, rising to 50.1% in June 2026 from 49.8% in May 2026. Year-over-year, rural LFPR increased by 0.5 percentage points, while urban LFPR decreased by 0.3 percentage points.
Female labour force participation demonstrated stability with the overall female LFPR at 32.7% in June 2026 compared to 32.8% in May 2026. Rural female LFPR remained broadly stable at 36.6% against 36.7% the previous month, while urban female LFPR maintained the same level at 24.8%. Notably, the overall female LFPR showed significant year-on-year improvement, increasing by 0.7 percentage points from 32.0% in June 2025. Rural female LFPR rose substantially by 1.4 percentage points from 35.2% to 36.6%, while urban female LFPR moderated slightly by 0.4 percentage points from 25.2% to 24.8%.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) remained stable at 51.4% in June 2026, unchanged from May 2026 and showing a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points over June 2025 (51.2%). Rural WPR held steady at 53.8% month-over-month, while urban WPR showed marginal improvement to 46.8% from 46.6%. Male WPR specifically increased from 72.5% in May 2026 to 72.9% in June 2026, showing broad stability compared to June 2025 (72.8%). Year-on-year, rural WPR recorded a gain of 0.5 percentage points from 53.3% to 53.8%, while urban WPR remained unchanged.
The overall Unemployment Rate (UR) remained unchanged at 5.5% in June 2026 compared to both the previous month and broadly stable compared to June 2025 (5.6%). Rural UR eased marginally from 5.1% to 5.0% month-over-month, while urban UR increased slightly from 6.4% to 6.6%. Notably, the rural male UR (15+ years) recorded a decline in June 2026 after continuous rises from February 2026 onwards and remained below the level recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year. Year-on-year, urban UR declined significantly from 7.1% in June 2025 to 6.6% in June 2026, representing a reduction of 0.5 percentage points.