India's February unemployment rate eases to 4.9% y/y

India's unemployment rate ‌eased ⁠to ⁠4.9% in February from 5% in ⁠January, as per the government ‌data released on ⁠Monday.

The urban unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined to 6.6% last month, falling below the December 2025 level (6.7%). The rural unemployment remained unchanged at 4.2%, the same level as observed in January, 2026.

The unemployment rate among female aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1%, compared to 5.6% in January, 2026, with both rural and urban areas reporting a decline.

The urban female jobless rate decreased from 9.8% in January to 8.7% in February, while the rural female jobless rate declined from 4.3% to 4.0% during the same period.

Overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) remained unchanged at 55.9% in February as in January, with rural LFPR at 58.7% and urban LFPR at 50.4%.

The overall female LFPR in the age group 15 years and above increased marginally from 35.1% in January, 2026 to 35.3% in February, 2026.

In rural areas, the female LFPR rose from 39.7% in January, 2026 to 40.0% in February, 2026, indicating an improvement in rural female participation, whereas, the urban female LFPR remained unchanged at 25.5% during the same period.

At the national level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,74,879 persons surveyed by NSO with MoSPI being the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population.

The government modified the PLFS survey methodology from January, 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.