look news india
Good news has come out regarding unemployment in India. The country’s unemployment rate has come down to 5.1 percent in the quarter from July to September 2026, whereas in the previous quarter i.e. April to June 2026, this figure was 5.4 percent. The biggest reason for this decline in unemployment rate is the increase in employment opportunities in rural areas. However, a slight increase in the unemployment rate has been recorded in urban areas.
This information has come to light in the data of Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI). According to the survey, along with the number of people getting employment in the country, the share of people working or looking for employment has also improved.
Unemployment decreased in rural areas, figure increased in cities
According to PLFS data, the unemployment rate in rural areas declined to 4.3 percent during July-September 2026, which was 4.8 percent in the April-June quarter. That means the unemployment situation in villages has improved.
At the same time, if we talk about urban areas, the unemployment rate here increased from 6.7 percent to 6.8 percent. It is clear from this that the employment situation has improved in the rural areas of the country, whereas employment-related challenges still remain in the cities.
Increase in the number of people looking for employment
According to the survey, the share of people aged 15 years and above who are either working or looking for employment increased to 55.5 percent. In the last quarter this figure was 54.6 percent.
In rural areas this share increased from 56.9 percent to 58.1 percent. At the same time, in urban areas this figure remained almost stable and increased from 50.2 percent to 50.4 percent.
Apart from this, the share of people actually getting employment in the country has also increased. It was 51.7 percent in April-June 2026, which increased to 52.7 percent in the July-September quarter.
Women’s participation in employment increased
An important point of this survey is that there has been improvement in women’s participation in the field of employment. During July-September 2026, the share of women working or looking for jobs increased to 34.7 percent, whereas in the previous quarter it was 33.2 percent.
At the same time, the share of women actually engaged in employment also increased from 31.3 percent to 32.8 percent. This shows that women’s participation in economic activities and employment is increasing in the country.
Increase in employment related to farming
With the increase in employment in rural areas, the share of people working in agriculture has also increased. According to the data, in April-June 2026, the share of people associated with agriculture sector among the total workers in rural areas was 52.9 percent, which increased to 56.7 percent in July-September 2026.
Apart from this, the share of self-employed people in rural areas also increased from 61.4 percent to 62.7 percent. At the same time, there has been a slight improvement in the share of people doing regular salaried jobs in urban areas. This figure increased from 49.3 percent to 49.6 percent.
57.9 crore people have employment in the country
According to the ministry’s estimate, an average of 57.9 crore people aged 15 years and above are employed in the country during July-September 2026. These included 40.5 crore men and 17.4 crore women.