The female unemployment rate increased to 5.3% in Q4FY26 from 4.9% in Q3, while the male rate was unchanged at 4.8%.
Urban unemployment declined to 6.6% in Q4 from 6.7% in Q3, but rural unemployment rose to 4.3% from 4%.
Among states and union territories, Chhattisgarh recorded the highest unemployment rate at 9.5%, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (9.3%), Punjab (7.7%), Uttarakhand (7.3%) and Kerala (7.2%).
The data, based on the current weekly status, covered people aged 15 and above who were unemployed but actively seeking work during the seven days preceding the survey. The survey covered 133,879 households and 561,822 people across rural and urban areas.
Youth unemployment among those aged 15-29 rose to 15% in Q4FY26 from 14.3% in Q3, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey quarterly bulletin released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. Male and female rates stood at 14% and 17.7%, respectively.
Labour force participation steady
The labour force participation rate (LFPR), which measures the share of the population either working or seeking work, slipped to 55.5% in the January-March quarter from 55.8% in the previous quarter.Female participation fell to 34.7% from 34.9%, while male participation declined to 77.3% from 77.6%.
The worker population ratio, or employment rate, eased to 52.8% in Q4 from 53.1% in Q3, with male and female rates at 73.6% and 32.8%, respectively.
Self-employment, including own account worker & employer and contributing family worker, remained the dominant form of work (55.8%), followed by regular wage/salaried employees (25.5%) and casual labour (18.7%).
“Regular wage/salaried employees for persons (15+ years) in rural areas witnessed a modest rise during January-March 2026 to 15.5% from 14.8% in the previous quarter,” the ministry said in a statement.
Agriculture accounted for 41.1% of the workforce, followed by the tertiary sector (33.7%) and the secondary sector along with mining and quarrying (25.2%).
Among youth, the LFPR fell marginally to 41.7% in Q4 from 41.8% in Q3, with male and female youth participation declining to 60.8% and 22.5%, respectively.