The National Statistics Office (NSO) has been conducting a survey aimed at determining the number of unemployed individuals in the country since 1998-99. Fieldwork for the fourth edition of the ‘Nepal Labour Force Survey’ began on March 12.

Manohar Ghimire, director of the Social Statistics Division of the NSO, said that the data collection process is underway, with the primary objective of measuring the actual state of employment and unemployment in the nation. “The main goal is to assess the unemployment situation,” he said. “The fourth edition of the labour force survey has been operational since mid-February. This survey will run year-round from March 12, 2026, to March 14, 2027.”

According to Ghimire, staff are currently deployed in the field for data collection. To eliminate the impact of seasonal fluctuations on employment figures, data will be collected throughout the year through this survey.

The NSO noted that the first survey at the national level was held in the fiscal year 1998-99. The second and third surveys were conducted in the fiscal years 2007-08 and 2017-18, respectively.

The third survey revealed that the unemployment rate in Nepal stood at 11.4 percent. The results of the Nepal Living Standards Survey conducted in 2022-23 showed an unemployment rate of 12.6 percent. The Sixteenth Plan presented by the National Planning Commission aims to reduce the unemployment rate to 5 percent by the end of the plan period in 2028-29.

Ghimire said that this survey will be highly useful in providing realistic information regarding the country’s employment status. He added that the results will be beneficial for all three tiers of government, scholars and researchers alike.

For the fourth survey, the office has selected a sample designed to yield labour-related indicators across 15 analytical areas, including rural and urban regions of the seven provinces and the urban area of the Kathmandu Valley.

The NSO noted that data will be collected through direct interviews with a total of 18,400 households, selected at a rate of 20 households from each of the 920 Primary Sampling Units. The office also clarified that data collection will only take place in these selected areas.

The survey, which began on March 12, 2026, will continue until March 14, 2027. During this period, labour, employment, and other social and demographic details of the selected households and their members will be collected nationwide.

Following the analysis of the collected data, the office aims to publish the survey results in August 2027, according to Ghimire.

Ghimire noted that personal details gathered during this process—including those from institutional households such as barracks and hostels, households within foreign diplomatic missions, and refugee camps—will be kept strictly confidential.

The National Statistics Office conducts this household survey to update Nepal’s labour statistics. The survey will provide critical data on employment, unemployment, the unemployment rate, underemployment, labour underutilisation, child labour, and forced labour during the reference period.

Asserting that it is the duty of all citizens to assist the NSO staff deployed for data collection, the office has requested all individuals, organisations, and communities to help ensure the survey’s success.