New Delhi, May 15 -- India's overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 years and above showed a slight softening in April 2026, edging down to 55.0% from 55.4% in March 2026 and 55.6% in April 2025, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

The decline was broad-based across regions. "In rural and urban areas, LFPR was recorded at 57.5% and 50.1%, respectively," the release noted. On a year-on-year basis, the overall LFPR remained lower by 0.6 percentage points, with rural and urban LFPR declining by 0.5 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, compared to April 2025.

Female labour force participation also mode...