LFPR and WPR improved in both rural and urban areas
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- LFPR and WPR improved in both rural and urban areas
- Rural UR declined
- Gain in employment in agriculture sector in rural areas
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment-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 both rural and urban India under the CWS framework.
Considering the need to generate high-frequency labour force indicators with wider coverage, the sampling methodology of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was revamped from January, 2025. The redesigned PLFS aims to achieve the following objectives:
Earlier PLFS Quarterly Bulletins released up to December, 2024, presented labour market indicators only for urban areas. The Bulletin for April – June, 2025 marked the first in the series to provide estimates for both rural and urban areas and the current Bulletin for July – September, 2026 is the sixth in the series. In this Quarterly Bulletin, efforts have also been made to provide estimates of the number of workers in absolute terms.
Strategic Significance & Context
This Quarterly Bulletin presents estimates of key labour force indicators — Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), and the distribution of workers by broad employment status and industry of work — in the Current Weekly Status (CWS), separately for rural and urban areas at the all-India level. In addition, state-level estimates of LFPR, WPR, and UR in CWS are also provided for selected States.
Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:
The overall female LFPR increased to 34.7% during the current quarter from 33.2% in the previous quarter. Among male, the urban LFPR registered a marginal increase, reaching 77.3% during the quarter from 77.0% in the quarter April-June, 2026.
Operational Milestones & Policy Directives
On a year-on-year basis, the overall LFPR recorded an increase of 0.4 percentage points, rising from 55.1% in July-September, 2025 to 55.5% in July-September, 2026. Rural LFPR also improved by 0.9 percentage points, increasing from 57.2% to 58.1% during the same period, while the urban LFPR declined marginally by 0.3 percentage points.
Overall LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55.5% during July-September 2026, registering an increase over both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2025
In comparison with the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the overall WPR increased by 0.5 percentage points during July-September, 2026. Rural WPR also recorded an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the same period. Urban WPR maintained stability in the current quarter compared with the previous year.
Implementation Framework & Field Oversight
Compared with the previous quarter, WPR improved for both male and female aged 15 years and above, reaching 73.4% and 32.8%, respectively, in July-September 2026.
Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025, the rural UR remained largely unchanged at 4.3% during July-September, 2026 compared with 4.4% during July-September, 2025. Rural male UR declined by 0.3 percentage points to 4.4% during July-September, 2026 from 4.7% during July-September, 20265. Urban UR registered marginal improvements for both male (6.2% to 6.1%) and female (9.0% to 8.8%) over the same period.
Overall UR for persons of age 15 years and above improved to 5.1% in July-September, 2026 compared to 5.4% in previous quarter.
Long-Term Impact on National Growth
A year-on-year comparison indicates a reduction in the proportion of workers engaged in casual labour employment. In rural areas, the share declined by 0.5 percentage points from 22.2% in July-September, 2025 to 21.7% in July-September 2026. Similarly, in urban areas, it decreased marginally by 0.2 percentage points from 10.9% to 10.7% during the same period. In rural areas, share of workers in self-employment remained stable while regular wage/ salaried employment increased by 0.6 percentage points over the year. In urban areas, self-employment increased by 0.4 percentage point, while for regular wage/ salaried employment declined marginally in comparison with the same quarter of last year.
The share of workers engaged in casual labour employment declined during July-September, 2026, both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year
Compared with July–September, 2025, the share of rural workers engaged in the secondary sector, including mining and quarrying, increased from 21.0% to 21.9%, while the share in the tertiary sector remained broadly stable, increasing marginally from 21.3% to 21.4% in July–September, 2026. In urban areas, the share of workers engaged in secondary and tertiary sectors remained broadly stable.
Over the year, rural employment shares in the secondary sector rose from 21.0% to 21.9%, while the tertiary sector remained stable at around 21.4%
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 average, 57.9 crore persons aged 15 years and above were employed in the country during the quarter July-September, 2026, of which 40.5 crore were male and 17.4 crore were female.
The Quarterly Bulletin for the quarter July-September, 2026 is available on the website of the Ministry (https://www.mospi.gov.in).
Scan the QR code to access the Publications/ Reports
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by NSO, MoSPI, is the primary source of data on activity participation and employment-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 both rural and urban India under the CWS framework.
Considering the need to generate high-frequency labour force indicators with wider coverage, the sampling methodology of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was revamped from January, 2025. The redesigned PLFS aims to achieve the following objectives:
Earlier PLFS Quarterly Bulletins released up to December, 2024, presented labour market indicators only for urban areas. The Bulletin for April – June, 2025 marked the first in the series to provide estimates for both rural and urban areas and the current Bulletin for July – September, 2026 is the sixth in the series. In this Quarterly Bulletin, efforts have also been made to provide estimates of the number of workers in absolute terms.
This Quarterly Bulletin presents estimates of key labour force indicators — Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), and the distribution of workers by broad employment status and industry of work — in the Current Weekly Status (CWS), separately for rural and urban areas at the all-India level. In addition, state-level estimates of LFPR, WPR, and UR in CWS are also provided for selected States.
Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:
The overall female LFPR increased to 34.7% during the current quarter from 33.2% in the previous quarter. Among male, the urban LFPR registered a marginal increase, reaching 77.3% during the quarter from 77.0% in the quarter April-June, 2026.
On a year-on-year basis, the overall LFPR recorded an increase of 0.4 percentage points, rising from 55.1% in July-September, 2025 to 55.5% in July-September, 2026. Rural LFPR also improved by 0.9 percentage points, increasing from 57.2% to 58.1% during the same period, while the urban LFPR declined marginally by 0.3 percentage points.
Overall LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55.5% during July-September 2026, registering an increase over both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2025
In comparison with the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the overall WPR increased by 0.5 percentage points during July-September, 2026. Rural WPR also recorded an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the same period. Urban WPR maintained stability in the current quarter compared with the previous year.
Compared with the previous quarter, WPR improved for both male and female aged 15 years and above, reaching 73.4% and 32.8%, respectively, in July-September 2026.
Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025, the rural UR remained largely unchanged at 4.3% during July-September, 2026 compared with 4.4% during July-September, 2025. Rural male UR declined by 0.3 percentage points to 4.4% during July-September, 2026 from 4.7% during July-September, 20265. Urban UR registered marginal improvements for both male (6.2% to 6.1%) and female (9.0% to 8.8%) over the same period.
Overall UR for persons of age 15 years and above improved to 5.1% in July-September, 2026 compared to 5.4% in previous quarter.
A year-on-year comparison indicates a reduction in the proportion of workers engaged in casual labour employment. In rural areas, the share declined by 0.5 percentage points from 22.2% in July-September, 2025 to 21.7% in July-September 2026. Similarly, in urban areas, it decreased marginally by 0.2 percentage points from 10.9% to 10.7% during the same period. In rural areas, share of workers in self-employment remained stable while regular wage/ salaried employment increased by 0.6 percentage points over the year. In urban areas, self-employment increased by 0.4 percentage point, while for regular wage/ salaried employment declined marginally in comparison with the same quarter of last year.
The share of workers engaged in casual labour employment declined during July-September, 2026, both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year
Compared with July–September, 2025, the share of rural workers engaged in the secondary sector, including mining and quarrying, increased from 21.0% to 21.9%, while the share in the tertiary sector remained broadly stable, increasing marginally from 21.3% to 21.4% in July–September, 2026. In urban areas, the share of workers engaged in secondary and tertiary sectors remained broadly stable.
Over the year, rural employment shares in the secondary sector rose from 21.0% to 21.9%, while the tertiary sector remained stable at around 21.4%
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 average, 57.9 crore persons aged 15 years and above were employed in the country during the quarter July-September, 2026, of which 40.5 crore were male and 17.4 crore were female.
The Quarterly Bulletin for the quarter July-September, 2026 is available on the website of the Ministry (https://www.mospi.gov.in).
Scan the QR code to access the Publications/ Reports
