Unemployment in India rises slightly to 5% in January: PLFS data

New Delhi (PTI): The rate of unemployment in the country among persons aged 15 years and above rose slightly to 5 per cent in January this year from 4.8 per cent in December 2025, according to a government survey released on Monday.

The UR (unemployment rate) or joblessness recorded a marginal increase in January in both rural and urban areas, showed the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). The data also showed lower labour force participation rate (LFPR) as well as workers population ratio (WPR) across the rural and urban areas.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, said in a statement that the decline in LFPR and WPR, and rise in UR in January was primarily rural-driven, with seasonal factors, post-harvest slack, and discouragement effects playing a key role.

"Many activities like construction, agriculture allied work, transport, small trade, etc. slowdown in winter. Urban areas remained stable," it explained.

The pace of joblessness among those aged 15 years and above rose to 5 per cent in January 2026 from 4.8 per cent in December last year.

The rural UR edged up from 3.9 per cent to 4.2 per cent, while the urban UR increased from 6.7 per cent to 7.0 per cent during December 2025 to January 2026.

Among males aged 15 years and above, the UR continued to remain stable in January 2026.

In contrast, unemployment among females in the same age group was higher in January 2026 than in December 2025.

It stated that the female UR remained within the range observed during the period April to December 2025, indicating a short-term increase rather than a significant weakening of female labour market conditions.

Overall LFPR among persons aged 15 years and above was reported at 55.9 per cent in January, lower than 56.1 per cent in December 2025.

Rural LFPR also declined to 58.7 per cent last month compared to 59.0 per cent in December 2025.

Urban LFPR stood at 50.3 per cent in January 2026 as against 50.2 per cent in December 2025.

The participation of female labourers in January was 35.1 per cent. While female LFPR in rural areas was at 39.7 per cent, their participation in urban areas stood at 25.5 per cent during last month.

Female LFPR maintained its level, with marginal variations across rural and urban areas, the statement said.

The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) among those aged 15 years and above exhibited a broad stability in January 2026.

Following a gradual increase in rural WPR since June 2025 (53.3 per cent) to December 2025 (56.7 per cent), it declined marginally to 56.2 per cent in January 2026.

In rural areas, male and female WPR stood at 75.7 per cent and 38.0 pe cent, respectively, in January compared to the respective figures of 76.0 per cent and 38.6 per cent in the preceding month.

Urban WPR remained stable across genders with 70.5 per cent for males, 23.0 per cent for females and 46.8 per cent at overall level in January.

At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a 3,73,158 persons surveyed.

The PLFS conducted by NSO is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population.

The survey methodology has been modified since January 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.

The monthly bulletins for April 2025 to December 2025 have already been released. The latest bulletin for January 2026 is the tenth in the series.