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India’s Unemployment Rate Hits 4-month high to 7.9% in December; Read More
India's unemployment rate hit a four-month high in December, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Monday. The Jobless 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.
Globally, the youth have found themselves shut out of the labor market, and the consequences of the pandemic are seen lingering for years to come. In India, where about one million people enter the job market every month, although economic growth has rebounded from the depths of the crisis, unemployment has stayed well above 6 per cent.
Survey-based unemployment data from the CMIE is among the most widely used by economists and researchers as India lacks reliable, nationwide official job figures, a situation the government aims to remedy as soon as next fiscal year.