Unemployment rate (annual) in India

International Monetary Fund · Annual · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 4.9% 2027: 4.9% 2028: 4.9% 2029: 4.9% 2030: 4.9% 2031: 4.9%

4.9% (2031) ANUAL · % · Annual · CSV

Period	%
Jan 2031	4.9%
Jan 2030	4.9%
Jan 2029	4.9%
Jan 2028	4.9%
Jan 2027	4.9%
Jan 2026	4.9%
Jan 2025	4.9%
Jan 2024	4.9%
Jan 2023	4.9%
Jan 2022	5.3%
Jan 2021	7.4%
Jan 2020	8.7%
Jan 2019	7.5%
Jan 2018	8.9%

About this indicator

Source

International Monetary Fund

Frequency

Annual

Release

Published annually, covering the full year and subject to revision.

What it is

India's annual unemployment rate is the share of jobless people in the total labour force. It is the main labour-market indicator; the official figure comes from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

How it's calculated

It is drawn from the PLFS household survey following internationally comparable (ILO) criteria: a person is counted as unemployed if they are without work, available for work and actively seeking it. It is computed as the unemployed times one hundred divided by the labour force, as an annual figure.

Market implications

Its trend reflects the economy's dynamism and its ability to generate jobs for a very large and growing labour force. A weak labour market caps consumption; in India, moreover, high informality means the headline rate does not fully capture underemployment.

Limitations

It is a low-frequency figure subject to sampling error and methodological revisions. High informality and low participation rates, especially among women, complicate interpretation and limit comparison with unemployment rates in advanced economies.