Unemployment Rate Rises To 8.9% In October, Highest Since 2016

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Friday released a fresh set of data on India’s unemployment rate which rose to a three-year high of 8.5 per cent in October from 7.2 per cent in September, 2019. The last time India saw unemployment rates to this extent was way back in August 2016 at 9.59 per cent.

Even though the government has announced a series of measures to create more demand and revive the economy, the situation doesn’t seem to be changing as per the CMIE data.

Among States, Tripura and Haryana saw unemployment levels of more than 20 per cent (the highest), while the unemployment was the lowest in Tamil Nadu at 1.1 per cent. Rajasthan saw its unemployment rate double between September and October 2019 reported, The Hindu.

If we look at the eight-core industries performance India’s infrastructure output for September declined to 5.2 per cent on a year on year basis which is the worst amongst the eight sectors and raises considerable alarms. Also, seven out of eight core sectors saw a contraction in their growth for September month.

If labour continues to face a rising unemployment rate and poor employment opportunities, it may start getting deterred from entering the labour markets said CMIE reports.

Another research paper released by the Centre of Sustainable Employment concluded that there has been a significant decline in total employment in India between 2011-12 and 2017-18, reported The Indian Express.

The research paper by Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati K Parida showed that total employment during the above mentioned period decline by a whopping nine million, adding that this has happened for the first time in Indian history.

According to experts, the unemployment wave in India has significantly hurt the unorganised sector, which includes a fair amount of season labour. Daily-wage labourers have also been hit at large due to demand slowdown.

Several manufacturers on observing this steep decline in demand over the last few months have cut down on their production capabilities to limit losses, which has resulted in higher joblessness among individuals working as daily wage or contractual workers.

However, the CMIE data on employment released last month showed that employment in India grew by 25 lakh between May and September 2019. An estimated 40.49 crore persons were employed in India during May-August 2019, compared to 40.24 crore people employed during the same period in 2018. “Employment during May-August 2018 was 55 lakh lower than it was in May-August 2017 which, in turn, was 6 lakh lower than it was in May-August 2016,” the CMIE report highlighted.

The contrast in the employment and unemployment figures is mainly due to the population rise in India. The government has not released the population projections based on Census 2011. They should have been released in 2016 as per the past norm. The figures for employment and unemployment differ due to economists not being able to arrive at a total population number as per the Indian Express report.

Also Read: Govt Confirms Job Market Not Doing Well; Unemployment Rate At 6.1%, Highest In 45 Years