New Delhi, March 16 India's urban unemployment rate improved to 6.6 per cent in February this year, down from 7 per cent in January, while the rural unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.
For female workers, the unemployment rate declined across both urban and rural sectors, falling to 5.1 per cent in February from 5.6 per cent in January, the figures showed.
"February 2026 marked a strong recovery for the urban job market with more women working and unemployment rates dropping sharply across both rural and urban sectors," the official statement said.
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above remained steady at 55.9 per cent in February 2026, unchanged from January.
For female workers, the LFPR rose to 35.3 per cent in February 2026, up from 35.1 per cent in January, reflecting the increase in employment.
Overall, the working participation rate (WPR), which is also an indicator of employment, exhibited broad stability at 53.2 per cent in February this year.
Female WPR increased to 33.4 per cent in February, improving from 33.1 per cent in January, which shows an increase in employment in the economy.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the National Statistics Office, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population. The PLFS survey methodology has been modified from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
Monthly results of PLFS are released in the form of Monthly Bulletins. It presents estimates of key labour market indicators which include Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.
The Monthly Bulletins for April 2025 to January 2026 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for February 2026 is the eleventh in the series.
At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total of 3,74,879 persons surveyed. The persons surveyed in rural areas number 2,13,679, while those in urban areas are 1,61,200.
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