India unemployment rate September 2026, India unemployment data, PLFS September 2026, urban unemployment rate, rural unemployment rate, female labour force participation rate, India employment news, MoSPI labour force survey, Worker Population Ratio, Indian job market
India’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5 per cent in September 2026, unchanged from the previous month, even as urban joblessness edged higher, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on October 15.
The unemployment rate among people aged 15 years and above declined by 0.2 percentage points from 5.2 per cent in September 2025 to 5 per cent in September 2026, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
Rural unemployment stood at 4.2 per cent in September, compared with 4.1 per cent in August. In urban areas, the unemployment rate increased to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent in the previous month.