India Unemployment Rate

India’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.2% in September 2025 from 5.1% in August, in line with market expectations, following two consecutive months of declines. The uptick was driven by higher unemployment in rural areas (4.6% vs 4.3%) and a modest rise in urban areas (6.8% vs 6.7%). Among females, the rate increased to 9.3% in urban areas (from 8.9%) and 5.5% in rural areas (from 5.2%), while male unemployment saw moderate gains in both rural (4.7% vs 4.5%) and urban regions (6.0% vs 5.9%). Despite the rise in unemployment, the employment rate increased to 52.4% and the labor force participation rate climbed to 55.3%, marking their highest levels since April.