Worker population ratio (WPR)
WPR = Worker Population Ratio- How often
- Every month15th of the following month
- Next release
- Mon 16 NovIn 4 days · 4:00 PM
September 2026, down from 52.8% in August 2026.
Events on this chart
Source: NSO, MoSPI, released 15 Oct 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 52.8%Aug 2026
- Highest
- 53.4%Dec 2025
- Lowest
- 51.2%Jun 2025
18 readings since Apr 2025.
Story
The share of people aged 15 and above who are working.
What is happening now As of Sep 2026
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for people aged 15 and above was 52.7% in September 2026, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on 15 October 2026, against 52.8% in August and 52.4% in September 2025. Over the year, rural WPR rose from 54.8% to 55.5%, while urban WPR stayed at about 47%.
In towns and cities, WPR reached 47.2%, its highest since October 2025, as both men and women worked more: urban men's WPR rose from 70.7% to 71.0% and urban women's from 23.2% to 23.5% over the month. Across India, 73.6% of men and 32.8% of women aged 15 and above were working.
Why it matters
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) is the most direct count of how many adults have work. The unemployment rate can fall simply because discouraged people stop looking for work; the WPR rises only when more people actually work.
A higher ratio means more earners per household and more people producing goods and services. It counts every kind of work, so the annual report's split into self-employment, regular salaried jobs and casual labour shows what kind of work is growing.
What it is
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) is the share of people aged 15 and above who are employed. It counts all kinds of work: self-employment, regular wage or salaried jobs and casual labour.
This monthly figure comes from the National Statistics Office's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), using Current Weekly Status. A person counts as working if they worked for at least one hour on any day in the seven days before the survey. It covers rural and urban India.
WPR divides by the whole adult population, so it shows how many adults have work, whether or not others are looking for it. Most Indian workers are self-employed: 56.2% in 2025, by usual status.
Read this number
- The publisher
- The National Statistics Office is the statistics arm of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. It compiles GDP, CPI, IIP and the labour force survey.
Terms on this page (3)
- LFPR
- Labour Force Participation Rate
- NSO
- National Statistics Office
- PLFS
- Periodic Labour Force Survey
History
- 2017The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) begins, with quarterly estimates for urban areas and annual estimates for rural and urban India.
- Jan 2025Survey redesigned: each household is visited in four consecutive months, and the sample rises from about 1.02 lakh to 2.72 lakh households.
- Apr 2025First month with a monthly all-India estimate; quarterly bulletins now cover rural areas too.
- 27 Mar 2026First annual report on a calendar year, January–December 2025, replacing the July–June survey year.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 52.7% | Final | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Aug 2026 | 52.8% | Final | 15 Sep 2026 |
| Jul 2026 | 52.5% | Final | 17 Aug 2026 |
| Jun 2026 | 51.4% | Final | 15 Jul 2026 |
| May 2026 | 51.4% | Final | 15 Jun 2026 |
| Apr 2026 | 52.2% | Final | 15 May 2026 |
| Mar 2026 | 52.6% | Final | 15 Apr 2026 |
| Feb 2026 | 53.2% | Final | 16 Mar 2026 |
| Jan 2026 | 53.1% | Final | 16 Feb 2026 |
| Dec 2025 | 53.4% | Final | 15 Jan 2026 |
| Nov 2025 | 53.2% | Final | 15 Dec 2025 |
| Oct 2025 | 52.5% | Final | 17 Nov 2025 |
For UPSC
Know how the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and the unemployment rate are defined and linked, the difference between usual status and Current Weekly Status, and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) split of workers into self-employed, regular wage or salaried, and casual labour.