Economy › Employment and labour
हिन्दी — Read in HindiEmployment data and trends
How many Indians have work, and how that is measured.
All 1 article shown; the 1 that changed from 1 to 30 September 2026 are marked.Show only these
The labour force survey
Copy link to The labour force surveyPrelims
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of the National Statistics Office measures employment and unemployment in India.
- Conducted since 2017, it moved to monthly estimates in 2025 for people aged 15 and above.
- Monthly figures use the Current Weekly Status, under which a person counts as employed after working at least one hour on any day of the reference week.
- Its key indicators are the labour force participation rate, the worker population ratio and the unemployment rate.
What changed
15 Sep 2026Briefnewly addedUnemployment for August 2026 eased to 5.0 per cent, as rural unemployment fell to its lowest since January. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 15 Sep 2026: PLFS monthly press note for August 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Show history (3 other updates)
17 Aug 2026Briefnewly addedUnemployment for July 2026 fell to 5.1 per cent, as labour force participation rose. Free Press Journal (PTI), 17 Aug 2026: India unemployment rate falls to 5.1% in July 2026, labour force participation rises to 55.4% (opens in a new tab) · PSU Watch, 17 Aug 2026: Unemployment rate dips to 5.1% in July: government survey (opens in a new tab)
15 Jul 2026Briefnewly addedUnemployment for June 2026 was 5.5 per cent, unchanged from May. PIB, 15 Jul 2026: PLFS monthly bulletin for June 2026 (opens in a new tab)
15 Jun 2026Briefnewly addedUnemployment for May 2026 rose to 5.5 per cent, with rural unemployment up and urban unemployment down. The Hindu, 15 Jun 2026: Marginal increase in unemployment rate in May (opens in a new tab) · Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 15 Jun 2026: PLFS monthly press note for May 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Also filed elsewhere
- Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) · on Human development and welfare delivery
The 2005 Act gave every rural household that asked for it 100 days of unskilled manual work a year.