Which State Has The Highest Unemployment Rate In India?

Driven by elevated unemployment among urban residents and women, Uttarakhand recorded the highest unemployment rate at 8.9 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 8.2 per cent and Kerala at 8.0 per cent. The all-India unemployment rate stood at 5.2 per cent. 

The data, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in a parliamentary answer on Monday, further reported that the lowest unemployment rates are seen in Gujarat (2.2 per cent), Karnataka (2.8 per cent), West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (both at 3.7 per cent).

The statistics, relevant for rural and urban people above the age of 15, underlines that unemployment is consistently and almost considerably higher among women, especially in urban areas, with extreme levels in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir, where urban female unemployment exceeded 20 per cent. 

Another striking pattern is that states with low Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratios (WPR), such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, also report moderate unemployment, suggesting that discouraged workers, especially women, may be exiting the labour force rather than remaining unemployed.

The LFPR is defined as the share of the population that is either employed or unemployed, that is, persons who were working or, despite not having work, actively sought work or expressed willingness to work. The WPR is the share of employed persons in the total population.

Across states, LFPR for rural, urban and above age 15 people show wide variation in the July-September Quarterly Bulletin, 2025. Furthermore, WPRs remained consistently lower than LFPRs, underscoring the gap between labour force participation and actual employment.

The highest LFPRs are recorded in Himachal Pradesh at 69.6 per cent, Rajasthan at 61.2 per cent, Jammu & Kashmir at 61 per cent, with Gujarat and Chhattisgarh neck to neck at 60.9 per cent, reflecting strong overall workforce engagement, particularly driven by relatively high rural and female participation. 

The lowest female participation is in Delhi at 11.9, Uttar Pradesh at 20.5 per cent, followed by Bihar at 20.6 per cent; with the highest in Himachal Pradesh (60.9 per cent). 

The overall lowest LFPRs are seen in Delhi at 43.1 per cent and Bihar at 46.1 percent. The all-India LFPRs stood at 55.1 per cent.

An important pattern across all states is the sharp gender gap, with male LFPRs consistently far higher than female LFPRs; this gap is most pronounced in Delhi, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Another notable feature is that hill and tribal-dominated states such as Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jammu & Kashmir show comparatively higher female participation, while urbanised states and UTs, despite better job availability, often report lower female LFPRs, pulling down overall participation rates.

Across states, Worker Population Ratios for persons also show marked inter-state disparities. The highest WPRs are recorded in Himachal Pradesh at 64.1 per cent, Gujarat at 59.6 per cent and Chhattisgarh at 57.5 per cent. The all-India Worker Population Ratios stood at 52.2 per cent.

The lowest WPRs are seen in Delhi (40.2 per cent), Bihar (43.8 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (44.5 per cent), reflecting weak employment absorption, particularly among women. 

Female WPRs remained far below male WPRs across all states, and especially acute in Delhi, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. 

The parliamentary documents also mentioned that as of November 20, more than 6.02 crore jobseekers and more than 54.27 lakh employers have registered on NCS portal since inception.

The data was compiled by the National Statistics Office under MoSPI, which conducts the Periodic Labour Force Survey to estimate key employment–unemployment indicators, including the LFPR, WPR and Unemployment Rate.