India's unemployment rate improves to 6.51%, lowest since September 2018

India's unemployment rate (UER) for the month of November 2020 stood at 6.51%, the lowest since September 2018 when it was 6.47%, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data.

While the urban unemployment rate stood at 7.07%, rural UER was 6.26%. The unemployment rate for the month of October 2020 stood at 6.98% from 6.67% in September with urban and rural UER at 7.15% and 6.90% on the back of a sharp rise in unemployment despite the agricultural sector demonstrating signs of robustness.

Among the states, Haryana saw the highest unemployment rate of 25.6%, followed by Rajasthan at 18.6%, Goa at 15.9%, Himachal Pradesh at 13.8%, Tripura at 13.1%, and Bihar at 10%.

Talking about weekly numbers, the CMIE said that the country's unemployment rate stood at 7.8% for the week ended November 22, whereas the labour participation rate was at 39.3% leading to a steep dip in employment rate at 36.24%.

Also Read: India's unemployment rate rises to 6.98% in October: CMIE

The independent think tank was of the view that the 36.24% employment rate (for the week ended November 22) was the lowest since the economic recovery stagnated in late June 2020.

It also marked the fourth successive dip in the rate since the week of October 25, the CMIE report stated, adding that although this was an indicator of weakening labour markets over the last four weeks, it also demonstrated the incapacity of the labour markets to absorb proportionate share of the working-age population during the festive season of 2020.

"The deterioration of labour metrics in November is a signal again of the early exhaustion of the recovery process that began in late May this year," it said.

According to the CMIE report, the employment rate is the best indicator of the summary health of the Indian economy as it measures the proportion of the working-age population that is employed.

While the think tank is hopeful of a brisk start to the rabi sowing season, which will mean the agriculture sector will continue to perform well in the current fiscal year, it is also apprehensive that it will result in reverse migration of labour back to the farmlands.

Also Read: CMIE sees signs of recovery in Indian economy; says 'challenging road ahead'