National Statistics Office (NSO) reports India's unemployment rate falls to 4.8 per cent in Q3 FY26

Key facts

• The National Statistics Office (NSO) released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for the third quarter (Q3) of 2025–26, covering the October–December period.
• India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above eased to a three-quarter low of 4.8 per cent in Q3 FY26.
• The unemployment rate in rural areas fell to 4 per cent from 4.4 per cent in Q2, while the urban unemployment rate declined to 6.7 per cent from 6.9 per cent.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) rose to 55.8 per cent in Q3 from 55.1 per cent in the second quarter (Q2), driven by higher women participation.
• Youth unemployment for the 15–29 age group declined to 14.3 per cent from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
• Joblessness among young women fell to 16.6 per cent from 17 per cent, while unemployment among young men dropped to 13.5 per cent from 14.1 per cent.
• The share of self-employed workers rose to 56.3 per cent in Q3, while the proportion of regular salaried workers declined to 24.9 per cent.
• Employment in the agriculture sector increased to 43.2 per cent, whereas the share of workers in the secondary sector edged down to 24 per cent.
• The NSO uses the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework, classifying a person as unemployed if they did not work for even one hour during the reference week.
• The survey methodology employs a rotational panel sampling design where selected households are surveyed four times across rural and urban areas.