India’s unemployment rate rises to five-week high, check latest numbers

 India’s unemployment rate rises to five-week high, check latest numbers

 By: Surya Sarathi Ray |

August 11, 2020 

According to CMIE, the labour participation rate for the week ended August 9 stood at 40.62%, which was overall at 40.7% in July.

In urban India, the unemployment rate has been steadily decelerating from 25.14% for the week ended May 31 to 7.19% for the week ended August 2; though it inched up to 9.31% in the next week.

A sharp 190 basis points rise in unemployment rate in rural India to 8.37% has pushed the country’s overall unemployment rate to a five-week high of 8.67% in the week ended August 9. Urban areas saw unemployment rate rise from 8.73% to 9.31% during the period, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

 The employment rate, as per the private think-tank, also fell to 37.09% for the week ended August 9 from overall 37.6% in July. In June, the employment rate was 35.9%, 29.2% in May and 27.2% in April. In March, India’s employment rate was 38.2% and in January, it was 39.8%.

 uoyed by hectic sowing activity and jobs offered under the rural employment guarantee scheme, MG-NREGS, unemployment rate in rural India steadily plummeted to 6.34% for the week ended July 12 from 25.09% for the week ended May 24, but it again headed north to 7.10% for the week ended July 19 and further to 7.66% in the very next week; but fell to 6.47% in the week ended August 2.

In urban India, the unemployment rate has been steadily decelerating from 25.14% for the week ended May 31 to 7.19% for the week ended August 2; though it inched up to 9.31% in the next week.

CMIE surveys about 10,900 households every week. These yield a sample of about 35,900 individuals for the estimation of weekly unemployment, as per its website.

After clocking 23.5% in April and May, the overall pan-India unemployment rate first dropped to 17.5% in the first week of June and then it took a steeper fall to 11.6% in the second week. It further came down to 7.4% in July, lower than the average unemployment rate of 7.6% during the entire 2019-20, but slightly higher than the 7.3% recorded a year ago, in July 2019. Unemployment rate in February and March 2020 was 7.8% and 8.8%, respectively.

According to CMIE, the labour participation rate for the week ended August 9 stood at 40.62%, which was overall at 40.7% in July. The average labour participation rate for the whole of 2019-20 was 42.7%. The labour participation rate fell to 40.5% in the last week of July 2020.

 Source:https://www.financialexpress.com