India’s unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in August 2026 from 5.1% in July, coming in below the 5.2% market expectation and marking the lowest level since February. The decline was driven by rural areas, where unemployment dropped to 4.1% from 4.5%, the lowest level since December, while urban unemployment edged up to 6.8% from 6.7%. The improvement coincided with stronger labor-market participation, with the labor force participation rate rising to 55.6% from 55.4%, while the worker population ratio increased to 52.8% from 52.5%, its highest level since March. The rise in the employment ratio alongside higher labor-force participation points to stronger employment activity behind the decline in unemployment. Female labor-force participation also increased to 34.8% from 34.4%, led by rural participation, which rose to 39.4% from 38.8%. source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI)

Unemployment Rate in India decreased to 5 percent in August from 5.10 percent in July of 2026. Unemployment Rate in India averaged 7.44 percent from 2018 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 20.80 percent in June of 2020 and a record low of 4.70 percent in November of 2025. This page provides - India Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. India Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.

Unemployment Rate in India decreased to 5 percent in August from 5.10 percent in July of 2026. Unemployment Rate in India is expected to be 5.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the India Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 5.40 percent in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-17 10:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Jul 5.1% 5.5% 5.4% 5.4%
2026-09-15 10:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Aug 5% 5.1% 5.2% 5.2%
2026-10-15 10:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Sep 5% 5.20%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Employment Rate 52.80 52.50 percent Aug 2026
Labor Force Participation Rate 55.60 55.40 percent Aug 2026
Minimum Wages 178.00 178.00 INR/Day Dec 2026
Population 1421.00 1408.00 Million Dec 2025
Retirement Age Men 60.00 60.00 Years Dec 2026
Retirement Age Women 60.00 60.00 Years Dec 2026
Unemployment Rate 5.00 5.10 percent Aug 2026
Wages 22698.65 21454.87 INR/Month Dec 2025


India Unemployment Rate
In India, the unemployment rate is estimated by directly interviewing a large sample of randomly selected households. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Consumer Pyramids panel of households includes over 174,405 households including over 522,000 members who are over 15 years old.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
5.00 5.10 20.80 4.70 2018 - 2026 percent Monthly

News Stream
India Jobless Rate Falls to 6-Month Low
India’s unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in August 2026 from 5.1% in July, coming in below the 5.2% market expectation and marking the lowest level since February. The decline was driven by rural areas, where unemployment dropped to 4.1% from 4.5%, the lowest level since December, while urban unemployment edged up to 6.8% from 6.7%. The improvement coincided with stronger labor-market participation, with the labor force participation rate rising to 55.6% from 55.4%, while the worker population ratio increased to 52.8% from 52.5%, its highest level since March. The rise in the employment ratio alongside higher labor-force participation points to stronger employment activity behind the decline in unemployment. Female labor-force participation also increased to 34.8% from 34.4%, led by rural participation, which rose to 39.4% from 38.8%.
2026-09-15
India Unemployment Rate Falls
The unemployment rate in India fell to 5.1% in July of 2026 from 5.5% in the previous month, the lowest in four months. The result reflected fresh robustness in the Indian labor market after the gradual increase in the unemployment rate since the start of the year, aligned with macroeconomic headwinds from soaring energy prices and pressure on the rupee. The unemployment rate fell sharply in rural areas (4.5% vs 5% in June), which offset the uptick in urban unemployment (6.7% vs 6.6%). The drop in unemployment coincided with a sharp increase in the labor force participation rate (55.4% vs 54.4%), pointing to lower unemployment from an increase in employment. Consequently, the employment rate surged to 52.5% from 51.4%.
2026-08-17
India Unemployment Rate Unexpectedly Holds
The unemployment rate in India remained unchanged from the previous month at 5.5% in June of 2026, the highest in nearly one year, slightly above market expectations that it would ease to 5.4%. The surge in energy prices due to the halt of commercial vessel flows in the Persian Gulf weakened the rupee and dampened the purchasing power for household and businesses. The unemployment rate rose to 6.6% for urban centers from 6.4% in the previous month. This was enough to offset a 0.1 percentage point drop for unemployment in rural areas of India, easing from a one-year high. Still, the unemployment rate inched down by 0.1 percentage point from the corresponding period of the previous year. The employment rate remained unchanged at the 11-month low of 51.4%, and the labor force participation rate remained at the 11-month low of 54.4%.
2026-07-15