Unemployment rate up at 5.4% on rise in rural joblessness in Q1

New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4% in the April-June period from 5% in the preceding quarter, driven primarily by an increase in the rural jobless rate, official data released Monday showed. The unemployment rate was 5.4% in the April-June quarter of 2025. Rural unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in Q1FY27 from 4.3% in the preceding quarter, while the urban unemployment rate edged up to 6.7% from 6.6% over the year-ago period.

Female unemployment increased to 5.7% in the April-June quarter from 5.3% in Q4FY26, while the rate among males rose to 5.3% from 4.8%.

Across states and union territories, Chhattisgarh recorded the highest unemployment rate at 12.8%, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (9.1%), Kerala (8.9%), Punjab (8.5%), and Andhra Pradesh (7.4%).

The figures, based on the current weekly status (CWS), cover individuals aged 15 and above who were unemployed but actively seeking work during the seven days preceding the survey. The survey covered 133,425 households and 559,673 people across rural and urban areas.

Youth unemployment (15-29) increased to 15.9% in the April-June quarter from 15% in January-March, driven by a sharp increase in the female jobless rate to 19.6% from 17.7%, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) quarterly bulletin.