Women worst hit as Delhi sees sharp rise in unemployment: Survey

NEW DELHI: A survey by the Government of NCT of Delhi states that the unemployment rate in Delhi rose by 17.4 per cent during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate rose from 11.1 per cent recorded in January-February 2020 to 28.5 per cent recorded in October-November 2020.

The report also mentioned that the average income of those who were employed in this time period dropped from Rs 16,511 to Rs 15,383. The survey also showed that the increase in the unemployment rate was sharper among women, which increased from 25.6 per cent to 54.7 per cent. The unemployment rates for men increased from 8.7 per cent to 23.3 per cent. Manish Sisodia, Minister of Finance, Government of NCT of Delhi, mentioned the report during his budget speech and said that the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent lockdown have had serious impacts on the livelihoods of the people. He added that the survey showed that before the pandemic, 26 per cent of women were unemployed in February 2020, which increased to 40 per cent in February 2021. “It is important to empower and integrate these women in the economy of the family and the state,” said Sisodia.

The survey report also mentioned that in the time period between February 2020 to November 2020, the unemployment rate rose from 9.2 per cent to 29.7 per cent among illiterate and from 7.6 per cent to 27.6 per cent among those who graduated from primary school. It rose from 9.2 per cent to 25.8 per cent among those who passed class 10 boards and from 12.7 per cent to 29.1 per cent among college graduates, the report added.

The survey was conducted amongst 44,226 individuals from across the 11 revenue districts in Delhi.