A. Introduction

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[1] (CWS) approach.

The Monthly Bulletins for April, 2025 to July, 2026 have already been released. The present Monthly Bulletin for August, 2026 is the seventeenth in the series.

Key findings for persons of age 15 years and above following CWS:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) strengthened:

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 55.6% in August, 2026, from 55.4% in July, 2026. A similar trend has also been observed in rural areas, where the LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 58.2% in August, 2026, from 58.0% in July, 2026. In urban areas, LFPR remained constant at 50.4% in August, 2026 as compared to the previous month.

Compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the overall LFPR increased by 0.6 percentage point, from 55.0% in August, 2025 to 55.6% in August, 2026. During the same period, rural LFPR also increased by 1.2 percentage points, from 57.0% to 58.2%, while urban LFPR experienced a marginal decline of 0.5 percentage point, from 50.9% to 50.4%.    

 

Rural LFPR registered an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the corresponding month of the previous year, reaching 58.2% in August, 2026

 

• Female Labour Force Participation exhibits upward momentum:

The overall female LFPR experienced a moderate increase from 34.4% in July, 2026 to 34.8% in August, 2026 mainly contributed by rural female LFPR which increased to 39.4% during the current month from 38.8% recorded in the previous month. During the same period, female LFPR in urban areas was broadly stable at 25.4% compared to 25.3% observed in July, 2026.

Over the year, the overall female LFPR increased by 1.1 percentage points, from 33.7% in August, 2025 to 34.8% in August, 2026. During the same period, female LFPR in rural areas increased by 2.0 percentage points, from 37.4% to 39.4%, while urban female LFPR declined by 0.7 percentage point, from 26.1% to 25.4%.

Overall female LFPR increased for the second consecutive month, reaching 34.8% in August 2026

• Rise in rural workforce participation across genders:

The overall WPR increased from 52.5% in July, 2026 to 52.8% in August, 2026 driven by increased workforce participation in rural areas. WPR in rural areas recorded an increase to 55.8% in August, 2026 from 55.4% in the previous month while urban WPR maintained the same level of 47.0% in August, 2026 as observed in July, 2026.  

The overall WPR showing an increase of 0.6 percentage point over the corresponding month of the previous year from 52.2% in August, 2025 to 52.8% in August, 2026. During the same period, rural WPR increased by 1.3 percentage points from 54.5% to 55.8%, whereas the urban WPR stood at 47.0% in August, 2026 from 47.5% in August, 2025, experienced a decline of 0.5 percentage point.

 

Year-on-year comparison indicates an increase in the overall female WPR, rising to 33.0% in August, 2026 from 32.0% recorded in August, 2025.

 

• Rural Unemployment Rate (UR) declined:

Overall UR among persons of age 15 years and above declined marginally from 5.1% in July, 2026 to 5.0% in August, 2026. During the same period, rural UR decreased from 4.5% to 4.1%, while urban UR remained almost stable at 6.8% in August, 2026 compared to 6.7% in July, 2026.

Compared with August, 2025, the overall UR and urban UR remained broadly stable in August, 2026, whereas the rural UR declined by 0.2 percentage point from 4.3% in August, 2025 to 4.1% in August, 2026.

 

Since January, 2026, rural UR recorded its lowest level of 4.1% in August, 2026

 

• Rural UR decreased across gender:

The overall UR among male aged 15 years and above declined for the three consecutive months, reaching 4.9% in August, 2026 from 5.4% in May, 2026. The rural male UR declined from 4.6% in July, 2026 to 4.3% in August, 2026, while urban male UR marginally up from 5.9% to 6.1% during the same period. Among female of age 15 years and above, overall UR declined in two consecutive months to 5.1% in August, 2026 from 5.9% in June, 2026. Rural female UR decreased from 4.3% in July, 2026 to 3.9% in August, 2026 while urban female UR remained broadly stable compared to previous month.

A year-on-year comparison indicates that the overall UR for both male and female remained broadly unchanged in August, 2026. 

 

The overall male and female UR declined in August, 2026 compared to July, 2026

 

At the all-India level, the monthly estimates are based on information collected from a total number of 3,70,160 persons surveyed.
persons surveyed in rural areas 2,11,353	persons surveyed in urban areas 1,58,807

 

The Monthly Bulletin for August, 2026 is available on the Ministry's website (https://www.mospi.gov.in).

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Samrat

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