PLFS 2026

India’s education gains deserve celebration. New labour-force data asks a harder question: can women turn those qualifications into work they can enter and sustain?

India’s August labour data shows higher participation, stronger employment and lower rural unemployment. Women’s LFPR rose again to 34.8%, but the improvement remains concentrated in rural India.

More Indian women are entering the labour force, yet participation remains far below men’s. The explanation lies across both sides of the labour market: jobs and wages, care and mobility, …