According to figures released on Sunday by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s jobless rate increased to 8.30 percent in December, the highest level in 16 months, from 8.00% in November.
According to the report, the jobless rate in urban areas increased to 10.09 percent in December from 8.96 percent the previous month while the rate in rural areas decreased to 7.44 percent from 7.55 percent.
The increase in the jobless rate, according to Mahesh Vyas, managing director of the CMIE quoted by Reuters, was not as awful as it may seem because it came on top of a positive rise in the labour force participation rate, which soared to 40.48 percent in December, the highest level in a year.
“Most importantly, the employment rate has increased in December to 37.1%, which again is the highest since January 2022,” as per Vyas.
Before the next round of national elections in 2024, controlling high inflation and providing jobs for millions of young people entering the labour force continue to be the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s primary challenges.
According to separate quarterly figures prepared by the state-run National Statistical Office (NSO) and released in November, the unemployment rate decreased to 7.2 percent in the July-September quarter from 7.6 percent in the preceding quarter.
According to CMIE data, the jobless rate in the northern state of Haryana increased to 37.4 percent in December, while it was 28.5 percent in Rajasthan and 20.8 percent in Delhi.
