Unemployment dips slightly to 4.9% in February month

India’s overall unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above declined marginally to 4.9 per cent in February 2026, compared with 5 per cent recorded in January, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday.

The survey showed that the urban unemployment rate among people aged 15 years and above fell to 6.6 per cent in February 2026, improving from January levels and dropping slightly below the December 2025 figure of 6.7 per cent. However, the rural unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent during the same period.

A notable improvement was observed in female unemployment figures. The overall unemployment rate among women aged 15 years and above declined to 5.1 per cent in February from 5.6 per cent in January. The drop was seen across both rural and urban areas. Urban female unemployment fell from 9.8 per cent in January to 8.7 per cent in February, while rural female unemployment decreased from 4.3 per cent to 4 per cent. In contrast, the unemployment rate among males remained steady at 4.8 per cent.

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among people aged 15 years and above remained stable at 55.9 per cent in February, the same as in January. In rural areas, LFPR stood at 58.7 per cent, while the urban LFPR recorded a slight increase to 50.4 per cent from 50.3 per cent the previous month.

Female participation in the labour force saw a marginal rise. The overall female LFPR increased from 35.1 per cent in January to 35.3 per cent in February. Rural female LFPR rose to 40 per cent, while urban female LFPR remained unchanged at 25.5 per cent.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) was estimated at 53.2 per cent in February, slightly higher than 53.1 per cent in January. The survey covered 3,74,879 persons across the country.