New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above rose to an 11-month high of 5.5% in May, up from 5.2% in April, as joblessness increased in rural areas, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS-M) released by the statistics ministry on Monday.
The rural unemployment rate climbed to 5.1% in May from 4.6% a month earlier, driven by a rise in unemployment among both men and women. In contrast, urban unemployment eased slightly to 6.4% from 6.6% in April. Male unemployment in urban areas remained unchanged at 5.9%, while female fell to 8.2% from 8.5%.
Compared with May 2025, urban unemployment declined from 6.9% to 6.4%, while rural unemployment was unchanged at 5.1%, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation () said. The overall unemployment rate was also stable year-on-year.
The , conducted by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI, is the government’s primary survey for tracking employment and labour-force trends. The survey methodology was revised from January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour-market indicators, including the labour force participation rate (LFPR), worker population ratio (WPR) and unemployment rate (UR) using the Current Weekly Status approach.
Participation falls
The labour force participation rate fell across both rural and urban India in May. Overall LFPR for people aged 15 years and above stood at 54.4%, down from 55% in April. Rural LFPR declined to 56.6% from 57.5%, while urban LFPR edged down to 49.8% from 50.1%.
On a year-on-year basis, overall LFPR fell by 0.4 percentage points, with rural and urban participation rates declining by 0.3 percentage points and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.
Female participation in the labour force also weakened. Female LFPR for those aged 15 years and above fell to 32.8% in May from 33.9% in April. In rural areas, female LFPR stood at 36.7%, while urban female LFPR was broadly unchanged at 24.8%.
Compared with May 2025, overall female LFPR declined by 0.4 percentage points from 33.2% to 32.8%. Rural female participation was broadly unchanged, while urban female LFPR fell by 0.5 percentage points over the year.
The worker population ratio, which measures the proportion of employed people in the population, also declined during the month. Overall WPR fell to 51.4% in May from 52.2% in April. Rural WPR dropped to 53.8% from 54.9%, while urban WPR slipped to 46.6% from 46.8%.
MoSPI said the WPR declined by 0.3 percentage points in both rural and urban areas between May 2025 and May 2026.
Among women aged 15 years and above, WPR fell to 31% in May from 32.1% in April, reflecting declines in both rural areas, where it dropped from 36.5% to 35%, and urban areas, where it eased from 22.9% to 22.7%. Male WPR also declined, driven by weaker employment ratios in both rural and urban India.
The monthly estimates are based on responses from 373,887 people surveyed across the country, including 213,294 in rural areas and 160,593 in urban areas.