India’s unemployment falls to 7-month low in November as rural, female participation rises

India’s unemployment rate fell to a seven-month low in November, while labour force participation and employment ratios continued to improve, driven largely by gains in rural areas and rising participation among women, official data showed on Monday.

The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above declined to 4.7% in November from 5.2% in October, the lowest level since April 2025, according to the latest monthly bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Labour force participation rose to 55.8% in November, a seven-month high, reflecting a steady increase in the number of people either working or seeking work.

The worker population ratio, a measure of the employed share of the population, improved to 53.2% from 52.5% a month earlier.

Rural labour force participation increased to 58.6% in November, while the rural unemployment rate fell to a new low of 3.9%. On the other hand, urban labour force participation edged down marginally to 50.4%, though urban unemployment eased to 6.5%, matching its lowest level since April.

Overall female labour force participation rose to 35.1% in November, up from 32.0% in June, driven mainly by rural women. Rural female participation climbed to 39.7% in November from 35.2% in June, while urban female participation remained broadly stable at around 25.5%.

Rural female worker population ratio rose to 38.4% in November from 36.9% in October, lifting the overall female employment ratio to 33.4%.

The female unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in November from 5.4% in October, while the male rate eased to 4.6% from 5.1%.

The monthly PLFS, which was revamped in January 2025 to provide more frequent labour market estimates, surveyed about 373,000 people nationwide in November.