PLFS September 2026: Urban Female Labour Force Participation Reaches Highest Level Since October 2025

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) issued the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin for the month of September 2026 on 15 October. According to this report, the overall unemployment rate is 5.0% amongst people aged 15 years and above, while the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is 55.5%. The urban female LFPR increased to 25.9% which is the highest since October 2025. PLFS bulletin releases monthly figures on employment and unemployment based on the Current Weekly Status methodology.

Key Trends in PLFS for September 2026

In September 2026, the labour force participation rate and the workforce participation rate both increased among urban workers, but the unemployment rate remained the same as in August.

The statistics are based on individuals aged 15 years and above and follow the CWS method.

About Periodic Labour Force Survey

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is a survey done by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the umbrella of the MoSPI. The PLFS is a primary source of official statistics in India about the labor force.

PLFS gives information regarding the labor market conditions in both urban and rural areas and helps in comparison among gender and other population groups. Since the introduction of a new methodology in January 2025, PLFS started giving estimates on a monthly and quarterly basis under the new methodology.

The September 2026 issue is the eighteenth monthly bulletin under the new methodology according to MoSPI.

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)

The Labour Force Participation Rate calculates the percentage of the total population in a specific age group who are either employed or unemployed but available for employment.

The total LFPR of India in September 2026 for the population aged 15 years and above was 55.5%, down from 55.6% in August.

The total LFPR witnessed an increase of 0.2% from 55.3% in September 2025 to 55.5% in September 2026, while the rural LFPR witnessed a rise of 0.6% from 57.4% to 58.0%, and urban LFPR decreased by 0.2% from 50.9% to 50.7%.

Participation of Women in the Workforce

There was an improvement on an annual basis in female LFPR, with a significant monthly increase in urban areas.

Female LFPR in urban areas increased from the 25.4% in the August to 25.9% in September 2026, its highest value since October 2025. The female LFPR in rural areas increased by 1% annually to 38.9%.

These data show participation in the workforce; they do not necessarily represent the employment of women.

Worker Population Ratio (WPR)

Worker Population Ratio refers to the proportion of the people within a particular age bracket that is currently employed.

The total WPR for India was 52.7% in September 2026, from 52.8% in August. When looking at the annual figure, there was an increase from 52.4% in September 2025.

Urban WPR also attained its peak point since the October 2025. Urban male WPR moved up from 70.7% in August to 71.0% in September, while urban female WPR increased from 23.2% to 23.5%. Rural WPR decreased from 55.8% in August to 55.5% in September.

Unemployment Rate: Rural and Urban Pattern

The unemployment rate reflects the proportion of the labour force that is unemployed and does not represent the proportion of the total population that is unemployed.

The overall unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and over stood at 5.0% in September 2026. The rate was 0.2 percentage points below the 5.2% rate implied by the September 2025 comparison.

Over the year, rural unemployment fell from the 4.6% to 4.2%, whereas the urban rate rose marginally from 6.8% to 6.9%.