New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- India's unemployment rate for those aged 15 years and above eased to 5.2% in July from 5.6% in June, offering modest relief in an uneven labour market.

The improvement was driven by rural areas, where unemployment fell to 4.4% in July from 4.9% a month earlier, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released on Monday

In contrast, urban unemployment inched up to 7.2% from 7.1%, underscoringpersistent strain in city labour markets, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed.

Women remained disproportionately affected, though trends diverged across regions. In urban India, unemployment among women declined to 8.7% in July from 9.1% in June, even as joblessness among...