India's youth faced high unemployment levels during January and March 2026. While the unemployment levels among the 15-29 age group remained elevated throughout the year, they rose in the final months of the financial year 2025-26.
The unemployment rate stood at 13.8 per cent in April 2025 and gradually climbed to 15.3 per cent in June 2025, the highest level recorded during the period.
After a moderation till November, it once again rose from 14.4 per cent in December 2025 to 14.7 per cent in January 2026, 14.8 per cent in February, and 15.2 per cent in March 2026. This marks a steady increase over the last three months of the survey period, indicating worsening employment conditions among young people.
Unemployment in Male vs Female
The burden of unemployment continued to fall more heavily on young women than men.
Among males aged 15-29, the unemployment rate was 13.6 per cent in April 2025 and moved within a narrow range during most of the year. However, the rate increased again in the final quarter, rising from 13.7 per cent in December 2025 to 14.3 per cent in March 2026.
For young women, the situation remained significantly worse. Female unemployment was consistently above 16 per cent through most of the year and crossed 17 per cent several times. It stood at 16.3 per cent in December 2025 before rising sharply to 17.8 per cent in January 2026, 17.6 per cent in February, and 17.7 per cent in March.
The gap between male and female unemployment remained wide throughout the year, showing that young women continued to face greater difficulty in finding jobs compared to men in the same age group.
The rise in unemployment becomes more significant when seen alongside labour force participation trends.
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) data shows that young women were already participating in the workforce at much lower levels than men. Female LFPR remained between 20 per cent and 23 per cent during the entire period, compared to more than 60 per cent for men.
In June 2025, female LFPR fell to 20.6 per cent, one of the lowest levels recorded during the year. Although participation improved slightly in the following months, it remained weak overall. In the last quarter, female LFPR stood at 22.5 per cent in December 2025, rose marginally to 23.2 per cent in January 2026, and then declined to 22.3 per cent by March 2026.
This means that even with fewer women participating in the labour market, unemployment among those actively seeking work continued to rise in the final months.
Among men, labour force participation remained relatively stable above 60 per cent throughout the year. Male LFPR was 61.5 per cent in December 2025 and slipped slightly to 60.9 per cent by March 2026. Despite this stability, male unemployment still increased during the same period.
The combined trend of rising unemployment and weak labour force participation suggests continued pressure in the youth job market, particularly for women.
