India’s Unemployment Rate Falls to Four-Month Low of 5.1% in July

India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 and above fell to 5.1% in July, down from 5.5% in June, according to government data. The figure matched the four-month low recorded in March and was below the 5.4% rate forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

The decline was led by rural areas, where unemployment fell to 4.5% from 5.0% in June, while the urban unemployment rate edged up to 6.7% from 6.6%. Unemployment among men declined to 5.0% from 5.3%, while the rate for women fell to 5.4% from 5.9%.

India’s labour force participation rate increased to 55.4% in July from 54.4% in June, while the worker population ratio rose to 52.5% from 51.4%. Female labour-force participation also improved to 34.4%, driven largely by higher participation among rural women. The data is based on the Current Weekly Status measure under the Periodic Labour Force Survey, covering more than 371,000 people nationwide.

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