New Delhi: The Unemployment rate in cities declined marginally to 6.6 percent in March quarter from 6.7 percent in October-December 2025, a government survey released on Monday said.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by National Statistics Office for the quarter covered a total of 5,61,822 persons, aged 15 years and above.
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The March quarter update is the fourth in the series. The bulletin for April – June 2025 was the first to provide estimates for both rural and urban areas.
It stated that the overall unemployment rate or joblessness in urban areas exhibited declining trend during January-March 2026 compared to the last two quarters.
It stood at 6.6 percent during March quarter compared to 6.7 percent in the previous quarter while it edged up marginally to 4.3 percent from 4.0 percent in rural areas.
In rural areas, regular wage/salaried employees showed an upward movement at 15.5 percent during January-March 2026 from 14.8 percent in the previous quarter.
Share of self-employed persons declined to 62.5 percent during the quarter from 63.2 percent in October-December 2025.
In urban areas, the distribution of workers across different status remained broadly stable compared to the previous quarter, it stated.
The sectoral distribution of employment continues to exhibit similar structural pattern, with the rural workforce predominantly engaged in the primary sector and the urban workforce concentrated in the tertiary sector.
In rural areas, the share of workers engaged in agriculture stood at 55.8 percent during January–March 2026, marking a decline from 58.5 percent in the previous quarter whereas share of employment in the tertiary sector increased from 20.6 percent in December quarter 2025 to 21.7 percent in the quarter under review.
The secondary sector along with mining and quarrying in rural areas also witnessed a rise from 20.9 percent to 22.6 percent in March quarter. In urban areas, the sectoral distribution of workers remained largely stable.
Using the projected population figures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the absolute number of workers aged 15 years and above has been estimated.
On an average, 57.4 crore persons were employed in the country during January-March 2026, of which 40.2 crore were male and 17.2 crore were female.
At the all-India level, the quarterly estimates are based on information collected from a total of 5,61,822 persons surveyed.
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) remained steady. The overall LFPR among the age group was estimated at 55.5 percent in January-March 2026, compared to 55.8 percent in the previous quarter.
In rural areas, LFPR was 58.2 percent in the quarter while it stood at 58.4 percent in October-December 2025.
Urban LFPR was 50.2 percent in January-March 2026 compared to 50.4 percent in the preceding quarter.
The overall LFPR of women remained broadly stable, recording 34.7 percent in January-March 2026 compared to 34.9 percent in the previous quarter.
During the quarter, female LFPR in rural areas was estimated at 39.2 percent as against 39.4 percent in the preceding quarter, while in urban areas it stood at 25.4 percent compared to 25.5 percent.
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The overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) stood at 52.8 percent in January-March 2026 compared to 53.1 percent in October-December 2025.
While rural WPR marginally declined to 55.7 percent from 56.1 percent in the previous quarter, urban WPR maintained its stability at 46.9 percent as compared to 47.1 percent.
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