Unemployment rate in India has soared to 23 percent revealed CMIE in its latest update released on Tuesday. However, what added to the misery is the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Based on its previous data, CMIE has predicted that the global pandemic may drastically hamper India’s economic growth causing urban unemployment to soar 30.9 per cent while overall unemployment rose to 23.4 per cent.
The latest data from CMIE predicts the joblessness for the week ended 5 April, and estimated that unemployment rate shot up from 8.7 per cent in March to the current 23 per cent. In March 2020, the labour participation rate fell to an all-time low, the unemployment rate shot up sharply and the employment rate fell to its all-time low. “The employment rate fell to an all-time low of 38.2 per cent in March 2020.
The fall since January 2020 is particularly steep - almost spectacular. It seems to have nosedived in March after having struggled to remain stable over the past two years. Meanwhile, in the US around 6.65 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the US for the week ending 27 March. It puts into focus the harsh economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the US economy.