India's unemployment rate for February highest in 2 years: CMIE report

The unemployment rate in India has once again rose to 7.2 per cent in February 2019 which is comparatively highest since September 2016.

The figures revealed would come as a massive disappointment for Central government. (Image: Representative Image/ PTI)

The survey is based on tens of thousands of households across India

Unemployment rate has climbed despite a fall in the number of job seekers

The labour participation rate fell to 42.7 per cent in February

New Delhi: The unemployment rate in India has once again rose to 7.2 per cent in February 2019 which is comparatively highest since September 2016 and up from 5.9 per cent in February 2018, stated a new report compiled by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) that was released on Tuesday, news agency Reuters reported. The survey is based on tens of thousands of households across India. Speaking about the same, Mumbai-based think tank told Reuters that the unemployment rate has climbed despite a fall in the number of job seekers. Vyas also cited an estimated fall in the labour force participation rate. “The number of employed persons in India was estimated at 400 million in February compared with 406 million a year ago,” he added. The figures revealed would come as a massive disappointment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government ahead of the much-awaited Lok Sabha elections scheduled to take place in around mid-2019. The NDA-led government has been on the radar of various Opposition parties over rising unemployment in the country, a claim that has been rebutted by the Centre. The figures presented by the CMIE are regarded by many economists as more credible than the jobless data produced by the government. The labour participation rate fell to 42.7 per cent in February from 43.2 per cent in January. In February 2018, the labour force participation rate was 43.8 per cent. The labour participation rate is a combination of the working age population (15-64) who are either employed or is unemployed but actively looking for a job. Another CMIE report released in January stated that around 11 million people lost their jobs in 2018 after the Central government announced demonetisation of high-value notes in 2016 and also due to the implementation of goods and services tax which affected several small and medium businesses (SMEs) across the country. The government, however, told Parliament that it did not have data on the impact of demonetisation on jobs in small businesses.

Published at : 06 Mar 2019 12:13 PM (IST)

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