The unemployment rate in India has improved to a six-week low of 8.7 percent, according to a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Private Limited. The jobless rate for the week ended June 13 fell to 8.7 percent from 13.6 percent a week ago, according to CMIE data.
Urban unemployment dropped to 9.7 percent in the week ended June 13, while the unemployment rate for the month of May was 14.7 percent.
Experts suggest that the recovery in employment is due to easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the arrival of monsoon.
Underscoring the plight of job seekers in India in May, the report said, "The unemployment rate shot up to 14.5 percent during the week ended May 16 after remaining stable for several weeks at around 8 percent. This implies that a number of people lost employment suddenly and they continued to look for jobs, albeit unsuccessfully." As a consequence of this widespread unemployment, India's private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) also declined to a three-year low — from Rs 123.1 trillion in 2019-20 to Rs 115.7 trillion in 2020-21 — a drop of 6 percent in nominal terms, stated another CMIE report.
Moreover, economists said that the improvement in the unemployment rate rides on the back of the uptick in the unorganised jobs sector. However, a few of them remain skeptical of the CMIE data. International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive director Dr Surjit Bhalla is among those who questioned the 'reliability' of CMIE, NDTV reported. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service, in its latest projection for India, said that the country's real GDP would grow at 9.6 percent in 2021 and by 7 percent in 2022. India will witness an uneven economic recovery, Moody's said, adding that the "economic outlook remains uncertain because of the downside risks of the potential third wave of coronavirus".
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
