India's unemployment rate falls to a four-month low in January

New Delhi: India's unemployment rate has fallen to a four-month low of 7.14% in January.

According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate during December 2022 was 8.30%. In November, it was 8%, and 6.43% in September. In January, urban unemployment was at 8.55% and rural unemployment stood at 6.48%.

Joblessness is the highest in Jammu and Kashmir at 21.8% and Haryana follows close with 21.7%. Rajasthan ranked second with 21.1%. In Delhi, Goa, Assam, and Tripura, unemployment was at 16.7%, 16.2%, 16.1%, and 16% respectively, stated the data.

On the other hand, unemployment was lowest in Chhattisgarh (0.5%), Odisha (1.5%), Tamil Nadu (1.8%), and Madhya Pradesh (1.9%).

TeamLease Services co-founder and executive vice president Rituparna Chakraborty said it is safe to say that employment has improved over the last few quarters. But, we still have a long way to go given each year in absolute terms we have added nearly 20 million to the workforce making the gap wider day by day.

CIEL HR Services managing director and CEO Aditya Narayan Mishra told PTI that the unemployment rate witnessed the lowest rate in January 2023 compared to the last three months, which is a good start to the year. "The unemployment rate has been wobbling in the last few months due to various economic and geopolitical factors. IT, technology, and startups have suffered in the last six months, however, we anticipate more jobs to be created over the months of 2023, which will reduce the rate further," he observed.

"Budget 2023 has also focused on job creation in agritech, education, tourism, infrastructure, healthcare, financial services, healthcare, and MSME sectors, indicating that the unemployment rate may continue to fall in the following months. Skilling initiatives will equip people to have the right skills that are required to fulfil the job requirements of various sectors," he added.