India's unemployment rate falls to four-month low of 7.14 pc in Jan: CMIE

Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI) India's unemployment rate declined to a four-month low of 7.14 per cent in January, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Wednesday.   The unemployment rate during December 2022 was 8.30 per cent, while in November, it was at 8 per cent and 6.43 per cent in September, the CMIE data stated.

While urban unemployment was at 8.55 per cent during January, rural joblessness stood at 6.48 per cent, as per the data.

Among the states, unemployment was the highest in Jammu and Kashmir at 21.8 per cent closely followed by Haryana at 21.7 per cent and Rajasthan at 21.1 per cent.

Joblessness in Delhi in January was at 16.7 per cent, Goa at 16.2 per cent, Assam at 16.1 per cent and Tripura at 16 per cent, the data added.

It further revealed that unemployment was the lowest in states like Chhattisgarh at 0.5 per cent followed by Odisha at 1.5 per cent, Tamil Nadu at 1.8 per cent and Madhya Pradesh at 1.9 per cent.

"It is safe to say that employment has improved over the last few quarters, however, 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," TeamLease Services co-founder and executive vice president Rituparna Chakraborty said.

CIEL HR Services managing director and CEO Aditya Narayan Mishra opined 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, he noted.

"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.

"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," he said.

Skilling initiatives will equip people to have the right skills that are required to fulfil the job requirements of various sectors, Mishra added. PTI SM BAL BAL