New Delhi : India’s labour market showed surprising strength in the second week of June, restoring many jobs that were lost to the economic upheaval caused by the nationwide lockdown, and offering some substance to the hope that the worst may be over.
The national unemployment rate fell sharply to 11.63% in the week ended 14 June from 17.51% in the previous week, bringing the job loss rate closer to the levels prevailing before the lockdown, a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) found.
Consequently, the rural job loss rate saw a steeper drop than the overall unemployment figures, CMIE said, declining to 10.96% in the week to 14 June from 17.71% in the previous week. That compares with the job loss rate of 8.29% in rural India and 8.41% nationally in the week to 22 March, three days before the lockdown was implemented.
The urban unemployment rate at 13.1% is higher than both the rural and overall job loss rate, CMIE said.
“If we analyze the available data points and the ground-level interactions with people and corporates, we can say non-wage work is coming back. At least 75% of people in the labour market are in non-wage work, earning a livelihood through self-employment, including agricultural work and casual jobs,” Thyagarajan said. “The decent formal sector jobs will take over a year to recover from the covid-19 pain.”