India, April 15 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
Snapshot:
Urban LFPR broadly unchanged at 50.3% in March, 2026
Female labour force participation reported as 34.4% in March, 2026
Urban WPR remained stable in March, 2026
Overall Unemployment Rate (UR) stood at 5.1% in March, 2026
Female Unemployment Rate (UR) in rural areas remains stable in March, 2026
At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,75,262 persons surveyed.
persons surveyed in rural areas
persons surveyed in urban areas
The Monthly Bulletin for March, 2026 is available on the Ministry's website (https://www.mospi.gov.in).
Scan QR code to access MoSPI Publications/ Reports
2,13,984
1,61,278
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment and unemployment conditions of the population. The PLFS survey methodology has been modified from January, 2025 to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
Monthly results of PLFS are released in the form of Monthly Bulletins. It presents estimates of key labour market indicators viz. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) at the all-India level following the Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.
The Monthly Bulletins for April, 2025 to February, 2026 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for March, 2026 is the twelfth in the series.
Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:
The overall LFPR among persons of age 15 years and above reported as 55.4% in March, 2026. Rural LFPR was 58.0% in March, 2026 as compared to 58.7% in February, 2026 while urban LFPR remained almost stable during this period.
Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in March, 2026 was reported as 34.4%, against 35.3% in February, 2026. Female LFPR in rural areas was found as 38.9% in March, 2026, while the same stood at 25.2% in urban areas during the month.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group 15 years and above remained broadly stable in urban areas in March, 2026. The overall WPR was estimated at 52.6% in March, 2026. In rural areas, WPR stood at 55.5% in March, 2026 as compared to 56.3% in February, 2026 while WPR in urban areas observed as 46.8% in March, 2026, against 47.0% in February, 2026.
The UR among persons of age 15 years and above rose slightly to 5.1% in March, 2026 from 4.9% in February, 2026 mainly driven by urban UR which edged up from 6.6% in February, 2026 to 6.8% in March, 2026.
Among rural female aged 15 years and above, the UR remained almost stable in March, 2026, whereas the male UR in the same age group was marginally high in March, 2026 in comparison to February, 2026.
Click here to see pdf
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
