Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate edged down to 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2026 from 3.8 percent a year earlier, while labour force participation fell to 49.2 percent from 49.7 percent, according to the Department of Census and Statistics Labour Force Survey. The labour force was estimated at 8.41 million, including 5.40 million men and 3.01 million women, while the economically inactive population was 8.67 million. Female labour force participation improved to 32.5 percent, but women still faced a 6.1 percent unemployment rate compared with 2.4 percent for men, and youth unemployment remained high at 16.1 percent among those aged 15 to 24.ft