MUMBAI: The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a Mumbai based economic think tank, released research data stating that the national unemployment rate in India touched a four-month high at nearly 8 per cent in April 2021. The national unemployment rate in March was 6.5 per cent, and according to the data, the unemployment outlook weakened majorly due to the restrictions imposed to contain the COVID-19 second wave. Mahesh Vyas, MD, CMIE, said that the COVID-19 situation in the country is likely to impact employment generation in the coming months as well.
The data released by CIME says that over 70 lakh jobs were lost in April in comparison to March this year due to the localized lockdowns across the nation. The impact of lockdowns has created higher unemployment in urban areas. According to CIME, the unemployment in urban India has reached 9.78 per cent in comparison to 7.13 per cent in rural India as of April.
The data reveals that there was reduction in labour participation rate along with hiring activity dipping in April. The current wave of unemployment due to the COVID crisis is mostly affecting the informal sector.