India’s unemployment rate the highest in the last 12 months: CMIE data

India’s unemployment rate in August rose to 8.3%. This is the highest unemployment rate in the past 12 months. In August 2021, the unemployment rate was 8.35%, according to the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), reported Indian Express

In urban areas, unemployment zoomed to 9.6% and rural joblessness was was at 7.68%. In February and June, rural unemployment rate has been higher than the urban unemployment rate.

There is a significant difference in the unemployment rate across states. Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan have the highest levels of unemployment rate — each with over 30% of the unemployment rate, reported Indian Express.

In a sharp contrast, there are many states with remarkably low unemployment rates as well. Chhattisgarh, for instance, has an unemployment rate of just 0.4%. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Meghalaya, all have unemployment rates well below 3%.

The unemployment rate is essentially the percentage of working-age people who are demanding work but not able to get a job. Both aspects of the definition are important. To be counted as an unemployed person one has to both “demand” work, that is, be part of the labour force, and then fail to get a job. How many employable people are looking for work and what percentage of them are getting work- this is broadly considered. The average number of people who are unable to find work is called the unemployment rate. To measure this, the labour force participation rate is studied and it changes from time to time. To put it in simple words, the unemployment rate is not a percentage of the population, but is determined by the percentage of people seeking or securing work in the labor force.

In August, while the labour force increased by 4 million, the economy instead of creating new jobs, actually shed 2.6 million existing jobs. A total of 66 lakh new people were added to the labor force who did not have work. Subsequently, the unemployment rate increased in the month of August.