PLFS Q3FY26: Unemployment Falls to 4.8% as Participation Rises
India’s unemployment rate (UR) declined to 4.8% in Q3 of FY 2025–26 (Oct–Dec 2025), according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin released by NSO, MoSPI on February 10, 2026. The fall in unemployment came alongside an improvement in key labour market indicators like LFPR and WPR, indicating more people entered the workforce and a higher share found employment.
What PLFS measures (and why UPSC should care)
PLFS is India’s flagship official dataset on employment–unemployment and labour market participation, published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The quarterly bulletin reports indicators under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework, providing a short-period “average picture” of labour market activity for persons aged 15 years and above.
For UPSC, PLFS is relevant in:
- Prelims: Definitions (UR, LFPR, WPR, CWS), recent headline numbers, and trends across quarters.
- Mains: Quality of employment (self-employed vs salaried), rural–urban differences, female participation, and the structural nature of job creation.
Headline trend: 4.8% unemployment in Q3FY26
The quarterly unemployment rate for persons aged 15+ fell to 4.8% in Oct–Dec 2025, improving from 5.2% in Jul–Sep 2025 (Q2FY26). This continued easing is important because it occurred even as more people joined or stayed in the labour force, which can otherwise push unemployment up if jobs don’t keep pace.
At the all-India level, the quarterly estimates are based on information collected from 5,61,108 persons, with 3,21,040 surveyed in rural areas and 2,40,068 in urban areas, reflecting the scale of the redesigned high-frequency PLFS system.
Rural–urban and gender highlights (broad-based improvement)
The bulletin notes that both rural and urban unemployment rates declined in Oct–Dec 2025. Reported figures indicate rural UR eased to 4.0% (from 4.4% in Q2) and urban UR moderated to 6.7% (from 6.9% in Q2).
A key highlight was rising female participation: female LFPR increased to 34.9% in Oct–Dec 2025 from 33.7% in Jul–Sep 2025. This is significant for policy because rising LFPR—especially among women—often signals improving access to work opportunities, better labour-market attachment, or economic necessity, and it changes how we interpret unemployment trends.
LFPR and WPR: Participation rose, and more people were employed
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR)—the share of population that is employed—rose to 53.1% in Oct–Dec 2025 from 52.2% in the previous quarter. Since unemployment fell and WPR rose, the quarter suggests an improvement not only in joblessness but also in the ability of the economy to absorb workers.
The press note also provides absolute worker estimates (using projected population figures), showing that average employment for persons aged 15+ increased from 56.2 crore in Jul–Sep 2025 to 57.4 crore in Oct–Dec 2025, including 17.2 crore females in Oct–Dec 2025 (up from 16.6 crore in Jul–Sep 2025).
Job composition: Better headline numbers, mixed quality signals
While the headline metrics improved, the composition of employment remains a key UPSC-relevant discussion point. As reported in the Oct–Dec 2025 PLFS coverage, the share of regular salaried/wage employment declined to 24.9% (from 25.4% in Jul–Sep 2025), which indicates that a larger portion of job gains may be outside the stable salaried segment.
This is important for Mains answers on “jobless growth” or “quality of employment,” because falling unemployment alone does not automatically imply more formal, secure, or productive jobs. It also underscores the need to read UR along with LFPR, WPR, and employment-status distribution for a fuller picture.
Methodology note: Revamped PLFS and CWS framework
MoSPI notes that PLFS methodology was modified from January 2025 to generate monthly and quarterly labour force estimates for both rural and urban India under the CWS framework, and the Oct–Dec 2025 bulletin is the third quarterly report in this revised series. This matters in exams because methodological changes can affect comparability with older series (especially pre-2025 quarterly bulletins that were urban-only).
UPSC answer tip (one-liner you can use)
When data is under CWS, it reflects activity status in a short reference period (week), so it is best interpreted as a high-frequency snapshot and should be paired with WPR/LFPR and employment composition for policy conclusions.
FAQs
Q1. What is the unemployment rate in PLFS Q3FY26 (Oct–Dec 2025)?
It declined to 4.8% for persons aged 15+ in the Oct–Dec 2025 quarter, as per NSO’s PLFS Quarterly Bulletin released on Feb 10, 2026.
Q2. Which indicators should be read with unemployment rate?
Key complementary indicators are LFPR (labour force participation) and WPR (employment ratio), both published in the PLFS quarterly bulletin under CWS.
Q3. What happened to female labour force participation in Oct–Dec 2025?
Female LFPR rose to 34.9% from 33.7% in the previous quarter.
Q4. Did employment increase in absolute terms?
Yes—MoSPI’s press note estimates employed persons (15+) increased from 56.2 crore (Jul–Sep 2025) to 57.4 crore (Oct–Dec 2025).
Q5. Why is the share of salaried employment important?
Because even with lower unemployment, a falling salaried share (reported at 24.9% in Oct–Dec 2025) can signal that job gains may be concentrated in non-salaried or less secure segments.
