Periodic Labour Force Survey Monthly Bulletin - May 2026
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation released the fourteenth monthly bulletin in the PLFS series, providing key labor market indicators for May 2026 based on the Current Weekly Status approach. The survey covered 373,887 persons nationwide, with 213,294 surveyed in rural areas and 160,593 in urban areas.
Labor Force Participation Trends
The overall Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above moderated to 54.4% in May 2026, compared to 55.0% in April 2026 and 54.8% in May 2025. This represents a year-on-year decline of 0.4 percentage points. The rural LFPR was recorded at 56.6% while urban LFPR stood at 49.8%, showing declines of 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points respectively compared to May 2025.
Female LFPR for age 15 years and above stood at 32.8% in May 2026, declining marginally by 0.4 percentage points from May 2025. Rural female LFPR was recorded at 36.7% while urban female LFPR remained stable at 24.8% compared to the previous month, though it declined by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.
Employment and Unemployment Metrics
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 years and above was estimated at 51.4% in May 2026, compared to 52.2% in April 2026 and 51.7% in May 2025. This represents a marginal decline of 0.3 percentage points in both rural and urban sectors year-on-year. Rural WPR stood at 53.8% in May 2026 (down from 54.9% in April 2026) while urban WPR was largely stable at 46.6% compared to 46.8% in the previous month.
The Unemployment Rate (UR) exhibited mixed patterns across sectors. The overall UR was estimated at 5.5% in May 2026. Rural UR increased marginally to 5.1% from 4.6% in April 2026, while urban UR eased to 6.4% from 6.6% during the same period. Compared to May 2025, urban UR declined significantly from 6.9% to 6.4%, marking a reduction of 0.5 percentage points and representing the lowest level since May 2025. Rural UR maintained the same level of 5.1% year-on-year.
Urban male UR (15+ years) stood at 5.9%, maintaining the same level as April 2026, while female UR in urban areas declined to 8.2% in May 2026.
The moderation in LFPR and WPR with an increase in UR in some sectors indicates a softening of labor market conditions during the period. The report suggests that while labor force participation declined marginally, employment opportunities contracted at a faster pace, leading to a rise in the proportion of unemployed persons within the labor force. This decline may be linked to seasonal moderation in economic activity during May 2026.