The unemployment rate in India is reportedly recorded at its highest at the end of February 2019. It has risen to 7.2%, the highest since September 2016, and up from 5.9% recorded in February 2018, This is according to the data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) that was released on Tuesday, reported Manoj Kumar of Reuters in Livemint.
Mahesh Vyas, head of the Mumbai-based think tank, told Reuters that there is an increase in unemployment rate despite a decrease in the number of people looking for jobs. Referring to an estimated fall in the labour force participation rate, he emphasised that the number of employed persons in India was estimated at 400 million in February 2019, as opposed to 406 million a year ago.
The CMIE unemployment data is reportedly based on a survey of tens of thousands of households across India. The report adds that the data is considered more reliable by many economists as more credible than the data provided by the government, as the latter tends to be out-of-date.
Also Read: Unemployment Among Educated Persons Grew Sharply Under The Modi Govt: NSSO Report
Recently, the Narendra Modi-led government withheld the NSSO report on employment, however, it was leaked and reported by Business Standard.
The leaked NSSO data showed that India’s unemployment rate rose to a 45-year high in 2017-18. Additionally, a CMIE report released in January reportedly said that nearly 11 million people lost their jobs in 2018 after the demonetisation of high value notes in late 2016. According to the report, the ambiguity with the new Goods and Services Tax in 2017 also hit millions of small businesses.
On questions being raised by the opposition, the government in the Parliament session last month claimed that it did not have data on the impact of demonetisation on jobs in small businesses. The unemployment rate and falling farmers’ incomes has pushed the opposition and the media into asking questions of the Modi government that it finds uncomfortable, especially ahead of the general elections.
Also Read: Demonetisation, GST Killed Jobs: CWS Approach Shows Unemployment Rate Stood At 8.9% in 2017-18
Last week, The Telegraph had reported the findings of a survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Uttar Pradesh Election Watch, which showed that 42 per cent voters in Uttar Pradesh considered joblessness as the most important issue.