MoSPI's eighteenth monthly bulletin shows overall unemployment unchanged from August and lower than a year earlier, with labour force participation at 55.5 per cent.

BulletsIn

• MoSPI released the Periodic Labour Force Survey monthly bulletin for September 2026 on October 15, 2026.
• It is the eighteenth bulletin in the monthly series under the revised methodology introduced in January 2025.
• The overall unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above stayed at 5.0 per cent, unchanged from August 2026.
• The rate is 0.2 percentage points lower than in September 2025.
• The labour force participation rate was 55.5 per cent, compared with 55.6 per cent in August.
• The worker population ratio was 52.7 per cent, down slightly from 52.8 per cent in August.
• Rural unemployment edged up to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent, while urban unemployment rose to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent.
• Urban female labour force participation reached its highest level since October 2025.
• Rural female unemployment fell to 3.9 per cent, the lowest recorded during 2026.
• Male unemployment remained stable at 4.9 per cent, while urban male unemployment eased from 6.1 per cent to 6.0 per cent.
• The estimates follow the Current Weekly Status approach and cover persons aged 15 years and above.
• PLFS is conducted by the National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Tags: PLFS, UnemploymentRate, LabourForceParticipation