New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- India's unemployment rate held steady at 5% in August, as a rise in urban joblessness was offset by an easing in rural unemployment, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin released by the statistics ministry on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above rose to 6.8% in urban areas in August from 6.7% in July, driven by an increase among both men and women, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said.

In rural areas, however, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in August from 4.5% in July. Rural male unemployment declined to 4.3% from 4.6%, while female unemployment fell to 3.9% from 4.3%.

Compared with August 2025, the overall an...