By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Labour market did not open for pre-festive hiring in September 2026 to gear up for the festive demand in retail, e-commerce, warehousing, and last-last mile deliver in October, which resulted in no improvement in overall unemployment rate which stuck up at 5 per cent as it was in August. Additional concerns are fall in the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) to 42.2 per cent and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) to 40.1 per cent.
PLFS monthly bulletin for September 2026 shows that overall unemployment rate for female in the country in Current Weekly Status (CWS) increased from 5.1 per cent in August to 5.2 per cent in September, but male unemployment remained at 4.9 per cent during this period.
Youth (age 15-29 years) unemployment also rose to as high as 15.2 per cent in September from 15.1 per cent in August. Youth unemployment worsened for male which rose from 13.9 per cent to 14 per cent, but for female it remained as high as 18.5 in the last two months.
Urban unemployment worsened. It rose to 6.9 per cent and has been on the rise every month since May 2026 when it was 6.4 per cent. The same trend has been recorded for urban female unemployment that has risen to 9.2 per cent in September as against 8.2 per cent in May 2026. Urban male unemployment in September was 6 per cent in September as against 6.1 per cent in August, but against 5.9 per cent in July and May indicating the volatile situation.
Urban youth unemployment rose to 19 per cent in September as against 18.7 per cent in August. It is to be noted that urban youth unemployment has been on the rise every consecutive month since May 2026, when it was 17.5 per cent. Female urban youth unemployment rate in September was as high as 26.6 per cent in September as against 26.4 per cent in August. Male youth unemployment also worsened to 16.4 per cent in September compared to 16.2 per cent in August.
Overall rural unemployment was 4.2 per cent both in August and September, with female rural unemployment at 3.9 per cent during this period. However, rural male unemployment increased from 4.3 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
Rural youth unemployment has softened in September but remained as high as 13.2 per cent as against 13.3 per cent. Rural male youth unemployment remained stable at 12.7 per cent but female rural youth unemployment remained as high as 14.5 per cent in September as against 14.9 per cent in August.
Overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR), that is workers actually in paid or unpaid work at least 1 hour in the last seven days, has declined from 40.3 per cent in August to 40.1 per cent in September which is a serious concern. Female WPR in declined from 25.5 per cent to 25.3 per cent, and male WPR declined from 55.3 per cent to 55.2 per cent. It means larger number of people are not getting works in the job market though PLFS data shows no change in unemployment rate for August and September which remained at 5 per cent.
Overall Youth WPR in September remained stagnant at 35 per cent compared to August. Youth female WPR also remained stagnant at 15.5 per cent but youth male WPR improved from 52.3 per cent to 52.5 per cent during this period.
Overall urban WPR has improved in September to 37.5 per cent from 37.4 per cent, for female improved from 18.6 per cent to 18.7 per cent though it indicates very low level of work available for even urban women. Urban male WPR improved from 56 per cent in August to 56.1 per cent in September.
Urban youth WPR remained stagnant at 33.8 per cent in August and September. Urban female youth WPR remained as low as 16.2 per cent in September, though it was a little improvement from 15.9 per cent in August. Urban male youth WPR increased from 50.3 per cent to 50.5 per cent.
In rural areas overall WPR declined from 41.6 per cent in August to 41.3 per cent. Female rural WPR also declined from 28.7 per cent to 28.4 per cent during this period. Decline is also recorded in male rural WPR during this period from 55 per cent to 54.8 per cent.
Rural youth WPR improved from 35.5 per cent in August to 35.6 per cent thanks to little improvement in rural male youth WPR which was recorded at 53.6 per cent in September compared to 53.4 per cent in August. Nevertheless, rural female youth WPR slid from 18.3 per cent to 18.1 per cent.
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), that is both actually employed and searching for job, also presents a distressing picture. Overall LFPR declined from 42.4 per cent to 42.2 per cent with decline in female LFPR from 26.9 per cent in August to 26.7 per cent in September. Male LFPR for both August and September remained at 58.1 per cent.
LFPR for youth remained stagnant at 41.2 per cent, with female youth LFPR at 21.5 per cent in August and September. LFPR for male youth increased from 60.8 per cent to 61.1 per cent, which indicates the more male youth were searching for jobs.
Urban youth LFPR remained stagnant at 40.2 per cent though both urban males and females in larger numbers were searching for jobs which is indicated in the urban male LFPR which rose from 59.6 per cent to 57.6 per cent, and urban female LFPR from 20.4 per cent to 20.7 per cent.
Urban youth LFPR increased from 41.6 per cent in August to 41.7 per cent in September female from 21.6 per cent to 22.1 per cent, and male from 60 per cent to 60.4 per cent.
Rural LFPR declined from 43.4 per cent in August to 43.2 per cent in September, female from 29.9 per cent to 29.5 per cent and male from 57.4 per cent to 57.3 per cent.
However, rural Youth LFPR increased from 40.9 per cent in August to 41 per cent in September. Rural female youth LFPR declined during this period from 21.5 per cent to 21.2 per cent, while rural male youth LFPR increased from 61.1 per cent to 61.4 per cent. (IPA Service)
