India witnessed its highest unemployment rate in 27 months at 7.38% in December, says CMIE

• Unemployment rate was recorded at its highest in 27 months at 7.38% as of December 2018, while the number of employed Indians fell by 10.9 million for the year.
  
• According to a report by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), nearly 83% of job losses were seen in the rural region — which accounts for two-third of India’s population.
  
• Women’s share in the total jobs lost in 2018 was 6.5 million in rural India and 2.3 million from urban areas.

In a worrying trend, India’s unemployment rate has been gradually rising in the last year, with unemployment rising to its highest level in 27 months at 7.38% as of December 2018, according to latest data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

Meanwhile, the number of employed Indians fell by 10.9 million over the last 12 months up to December 2018. According to the report, 11 million salaried employees in the country lost their jobs in 2018.

The report titled “Unemployment Rate in India” by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), has shown that about 396.9 million working-age Indians were employed as of December 2018, compared to 407.8 million in December 2017. The unemployment rate was 8.46% in September 2016.

Source: CMIE
Unemployment rate from January 2016 to December 2018

The Indian states of Tripura and Haryana had the highest unemployment rate at 28.8% and 24.4%, respectively, said the report.

The worst hit was rural India, particularly rate of women employed. Nearly 83% of job loss happened in the rural region that account for two-third of India’s population.

However, women have been most affected by unemployment rise. Women’s share in the total jobs lost in 2018 was 6.5 million in rural India and 2.3 million from urban areas. During the same time, Indian men gained 500,000 jobs during the year.

India’s government has come under strong criticism following the unemployment data, particularly as the government had made an electoral promise of adding 20 million jobs a year.

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