New Delhi: India’s unemployment rate in December increased to a 16-month high at 8.30 percent from 8.00 percent in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on 1 January 2023.
The CMIE data further showed that the urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09 percent in December from 8.96 percent in the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44 percent from 7.55 percent.
While speaking to news agency Reuters, 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 percent in December, the highest in 12 months.
“Most importantly, the employment rate has increased in December to 37.1 percent, which again is the highest since January 2022,” he said.
Containing high inflation and creating jobs for millions of young people entering the job market remain the biggest challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration ahead of national elections in 2024.
The main opposition Congress party launched a five-month long cross-country march in September from the southern city of Kanyakumari to Srinagar, in Jammu and Kashmir region, to mobilise public opinion on issues such as high prices, unemployment and what it says are the divisive politics of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party. India’s unemployment rate rises
“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,” Rahul Gandhi, senior leader of the Congress party, who is leading party’s 3,500 kilometre(2,175 mile) march on foot, told reporters on Saturday. India’s unemployment rate rises
The unemployment rate had declined to 7.2 percent in the July-September quarter compared to 7.6 percent in the previous quarter, according to separate quarterly data compiled by state run National Statistical Office (NSO) and released in November.
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