The unemployment rate or joblessness recorded a marginal increase in January in both rural and urban areas, as per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
The official data also showed lower labour force participation rate (LFPR) as well as workers population ratio (WPR) across the rural and urban areas.
Decline in LFPR and WPR, and rise in unemployment rate in January was primarily rural-driven, with seasonal factors, post-harvest slack, and discouragement effects playing a key role, the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, said in a statement.
“Many activities like construction, agriculture allied work, transport, small trade, etc. slowdown in winter. Urban areas remained stable,” the government statement explained.
Rural unemployment rate edged up from 3.9 per cent to 4.2 per cent, while the urban unemployment rate increased from 6.7 per cent to 7.0 per cent during December 2025 to January 2026.
As per the data, unemplyment in males aged 15 years and above continued to remain stable in January 2026. However, unemployment in females in the same age group was higher in January 2026 than in December 2025.Overall LFPR among persons aged 15 years and above stood at 55.9 per cent in January, lower than 56.1 per cent in December 2025.
Rural LFPR also declined to 58.7 per cent last month compared to 59.0 per cent in December 2025 and urban LFPR stood at 50.3 per cent in January 2026 as against 50.2 per cent in December 2025.
The participation of female labourers in January 2026 was 35.1 per cent. While female LFPR in rural areas was at 39.7 per cent, their participation in urban employment stood at 25.5 per cent during last month.