India's unemployment rate dips to 5.2%: Government data
India's jobless rate for people aged 15+ dipped to 5.2% between July and September, down from 5.4% last quarter.
This improvement is thanks to more rural jobs during the Kharif farming season and a noticeable rise in women joining the workforce, according to official government data.
Rural areas saw real progress
Rural areas saw real progress: unemployment fell from 4.8% to 4.4%, with agriculture now employing nearly 58% of rural workers (up from about 54%).
More people are self-employed too—almost two-thirds in villages now work for themselves.
In cities, things were steady; unemployment ticked up just a bit (6.8% to 6.9%), but service sector jobs grew slightly.
Women joining the workforce
Women are making their mark: female participation in the workforce edged up to 33.7%, and more women are actually working than before (Worker Population Ratio rose to about 32%, up from 31.6%).
Overall, India's labor force is growing slowly but steadily—with around 562 million people employed across the country right now.