RAS question
According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released in November 2025, India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15+ in Q2 FY26 was:
Correct answer: (B) 5.2%.
India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above was 5.2% in Q2 FY26, covering July-September 2025, according to the PLFS quarterly bulletin released by PIB in November 2025.
Explanation
The Periodic Labour Force Survey bulletin for July-September 2025 reports the Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above under the Current Weekly Status framework. For all-India persons aged 15+, UR declined to 5.2% in July-September 2025 from 5.4% in the previous quarter, so 5.2% is the required Q2 FY26 figure. The release also explains the movement behind the headline number: rural unemployment fell to 4.4% from 4.8%, while urban unemployment edged up marginally to 6.9% from 6.8%. This makes the all-India figure a blended headline rate, not simply the rural or urban rate.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 4.8% was the previous-quarter rural unemployment rate, while the July-September 2025 all-India rate for persons aged 15+ was 5.2%.
- (C) 5.4% was the all-India unemployment rate for persons aged 15+ in the previous quarter, not the Q2 FY26 figure asked in the question.
- (D) 6.1% is not the all-India Q2 FY26 unemployment rate; the PIB release gives 5.2% for persons aged 15+ and discusses 6.1% only in the urban male comparison for the previous quarter.
Concept
This tests PLFS labour-market indicators, especially the distinction between all-India, rural, urban and demographic unemployment rates. RAS questions recur on such data because one headline percentage can be confused with sectoral or previous-quarter figures.