India’s unemployment rate has hit 3-year high

News:According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE),India’s unemployment rate in the month of October,2019 has reached 8.5% which is the highest in over three years.

Facts:

• The urban unemployment rate for October 2019 stood at 8.9% slightly higher than the rural unemployment rate of 8.3%.
• Among States, Tripura and Haryana saw the highest unemployment levels of more than 20% while the lowest unemployment was in Tamil Nadu at 1.1%. 
• Further,Rajas­than also saw its unemployment rate doubled between September and October 2019.
• The data is also similar with the findings of the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey which had estimated an unemployment rate of 6.1% between July 2017 and June 2018,the worst in 45 years.

Additional information:

Study on unemployment by Centre for Sustainable Employment:

• The researchers at the Centre for Sustainable Employment has found that between 2011­-12 and 2017­-18,employment has declined by nine million jobs.
• The agricultural employment has declined by 11.5% while in the same period employment in the service sector increased by 13.4% and manufacturing employment dipped by 5.7%.
• The study also says that due to a decline of employment in agriculture and manufacturing and slow growth of construction jobs, the process of structural transformation which had gained momentum post 2004-5 has stalled since 2012.
• However,the only sector which sustained growth of jobs is services sector although the quality of jobs in this sector is mostly poor.
• Hence,the study has suggested that to sustain the growth of income, improve the standard of living and to reduce poverty, employment opportunities in manufacturing and construction is necessary.