National Statistics Office under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation recently released Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin for February, 2026
About Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
Conducted by: National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, is India’s primary source of data on employment and unemployment.
Recent Methodological Change (2025)
- From January 2025, the PLFS methodology has been modified to enhance the frequency and timeliness of labour market data.
- Modified PLFS provides monthly and quarterly estimates of labour force indicators for the country.
- Monthly PLFS Bulletins: The survey now releases Monthly Bulletins containing key labour market indicators at the all-India level. These indicators are
- Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)
- Worker Population Ratio (WPR)
- Unemployment Rate (UR)
- All indicators are based on the Current Weekly Status (CWS)
- Coverage & Progress: Monthly Bulletins for April, 2025 to January, 2026 have already been released.
- The present Monthly Bulletin for February, 2026 is the eleventh in the series.
Key Labour Market Indicators (CWS) – February 2026
| Indicator | Key Data / Trends | Insights / Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) | • Overall LFPR remained unchanged at 55.9% (January 2026: 55.9%) | Indicates stability in labour force participation with slight improvement in urban areas |
| • Rural LFPR: 58.7% | ||
| • Urban LFPR increased slightly from 50.3% to 50.4% | ||
| Female LFPR | • Overall female LFPR increased from 35.1% to 35.3% | Marginal improvement driven by rural female participation; urban female participation remains stagnant |
| • Rural female LFPR increased from 39.7% to 40.0% | ||
| • Urban female LFPR remained unchanged at 25.5% | ||
| Worker Population Ratio (WPR) | • Overall WPR increased from 53.1% to 53.2% | Employment levels remained broadly stable with slight improvement |
| • Rural WPR: 56.3% | ||
| • Urban WPR increased from 46.8% to 47.0% | ||
| Female WPR | • Overall female WPR increased from 33.1% to 33.4% | Indicates gradual improvement in female workforce participation across both rural and urban areas |
| • Rural female WPR increased from 38.0% to 38.4% | ||
| • Urban female WPR increased from 23.0% to 23.3% | ||
| Unemployment Rate (UR) | • Overall UR declined from 5.0% to 4.9% | Improvement driven by decline in urban unemployment; rural unemployment remains stable |
| • Urban UR declined to 6.6% (from higher January level) | ||
| • Rural UR remained unchanged at 4.2% | ||
| Female Unemployment Rate | • Overall female UR declined from 5.6% to 5.1% | Significant improvement in female employment conditions, especially in urban areas |
| • Urban female UR declined from 9.8% to 8.7% | ||
| • Rural female UR declined from 4.3% to 4.0% | ||
| • Male UR remained stable at 4.8% |