India's jobless rate slips to six-month low of 5percent in August

Representational photo: Porters transport metal pipes on a wooden handcart as people wait to cross a street in Mumbai, India, Jun 24, 2015. REUTERS

India's unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in August, a six-month low, government data showed on Tuesday.

A Reuters ‌poll had projected the unemployment rate at 5.2 percent, compared with 5.1 percent in July. In February, the rate had stood at 4.9 percent .

Here are some details:

Rural unemployment fell to 4.1percent from 4.5 percent in July, its lowest since January, while urban unemployment edged up to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent, National Statistics Office data showed.

The unemployment rate for men fell to 4.9 percent in August from 5.0 percent in July, while the rate for women declined to 5.1 percent from 5.4 percent.

The labour force participation rate, which measures the share of people aged 15 and above who are working or seeking ‌work, rose to 55.6 percent in August from 55.4 percent a month earlier

The worker population ratio, a measure of the proportion of people employed, increased to 52.8 percent in August from 52.5percent inJuly.

Female labour force participation also strengthened, with the overall rate rising to 34.8 percent from 34.4 percent in July.

Rural female LFPR rose to 39.4percent from 38.8 percent, while urban female participation was broadly stable at 25.4 percent

The figures are based on the Current Weekly Status measure under India's Periodic Labour Force Survey, covering 370,160 people nationwide, including 211,353 in rural areas and 158,807 in urban areas.