Economic activities and consumer sentiments have been hit in the South Asian nation after a rise in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and restrictions in many states.
India’s unemployment rate hit a four-month high in December, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Monday.
The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in December from 7.0% in November, its highest since 8.3% in August.
Economic activity and consumer sentiment have been hit in the South Asian nation after a rise in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant and social distancing restrictions in many states.
Urban unemployment rate rose to 9.3% in December from 8.2% in the previous month while the rural unemployment rate was up 7.3% from 6.4%, the data showed.
Many economists worry that the Omicron variant could reverse the economic recovery seen in the previous quarter.
Mumbai-based CMIE data on unemployment is closely watched by economists and policymakers as the government doesn’t release monthly figures.
But jobs are diminishing. India’s unemployment rate crept up to nearly 8% in December, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent think tank. It was more than 7% in 2020 and for most of 2021.
This is way higher than anything seen in India, at least over the last three decades, including the big [economic] crisis of 1991 [when the country did not have enough dollars to pay for imports].
Most countries saw joblessness rise in 2020. But India’s rate exceeded most emerging economies like Bangladesh (5.3%), Mexico (4.7%) and Vietnam (2.3%), notes Prof Basu.
Even salaried jobs have shrunk, according to the CMIE. Part of this could be because firms have used the pandemic to trim their workforce and reduce costs. Studies by Azim Premji University show young workers – 15 to 23 years old – were hardest hit during the 2020 lockdown.
There was a churn. We found that about half of those who had salaried work before the lockdown could not retain such work.
(Source: www.bbc.com)