UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 8.3%

India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.3% in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8% in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Sunday.
The urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09% in December from 8.96% in the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44% from 7.55%, the data showed.
Mahesh Vyas, managing director of the CMIE, said the rise in the unemployment rate was “not as bad as it may seem,” as it came on top of a healthy increase in the labour participation rate, which shot up to 40.48% in December, the highest in 12 months.
“Most importantly, the employment rate has increased in December to 37.1%, which again is the highest since January 2022,” he told Reuters.
The unemployment rate had declined to 7.2% in the July-September quarter compared to 7.6% in the previous quarter, according to separate quarterly data compiled by state-run National Statistical Office .
In December, the unemployment rate rose to 37.4% in Haryana, followed by 28.5% in Rajasthan and 20.8% in Delhi, the CMIE data showed.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that India needs to move from a single focus on GDP growth to growth with employment, skilling of youth and creating production capacities with export prospects.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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