Joblessness slowed to 5.2% in Q2: PLFS data

Unemployment rate in rural areas fell to 4.4%

- SHIVA RAJORA

India’s labour market in the second quarter (July-September/Q2) of 2025-26 (FY26) showed resilience, with the jobless rate easing even as more people entered the workforce.

However, arise in youth unemployment and a fall in the share of salaried workers remain areas of concern.

The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, released on Monday by the National Statistics Office (NSO) for both rural and urban areas, showed that the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above (in current weekly status, or CWS, terms) fell to 5.2 per cent in Q2FY26 from 5.4 per cent in the first quarter (April-June/Q1).

Under CWS, a person is considered unemployed if they did not work even for one hour on any day during the reference week but were seeking or available for work for at least one hour on any previous day during that week.