The latest data on the unemployment rate by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed that India’s joblessness rate was recorded at 8.30% in December, the highest in 16 months, as compared to 8.00% in November. While the urban unemployment rate had increased to 10.09% in December from 8.96% in the previous month, the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44% from 7.55%, the data on the CMIE website showed.
Haryana recorded the highest unemployment rate at 37.4%, while Odisha recorded the lowest at 0.9% last month. Apart from Haryana, seven more states reported double-digit unemployment rates including the national capital.
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Top five states with the highest unemployment rates in December:
| Haryana | 37.4 |
| Rajasthan | 28.5 |
| Delhi | 20.8 |
| Bihar | 19.1 |
| Jharkhand | 18 |
Top five states with the lowest unemployment rates in December:
| Odisha | 0.9 |
| Gujarat | 2.3 |
| Karnataka | 2.5 |
| Meghalaya | 2.7 |
| Maharashtra | 3.1 |
Mahesh Vyas, managing director of the CMIE, said the rise in the unemployment rate was “not as bad as it may seem,” as it came on top of a healthy increase in the labour participation rate, which shot up to 40.48% in December, the highest in 12 months, Reuters reported. “Most importantly, the employment rate has increased in December to 37.1%, which again is the highest since January 2022,” he told Reuters.
The unemployment rate had declined to 7.2% compared to 7.6% in the July-September quarter, according to separate data shared by the state-run National Statistical Office (NSO), released in November, Reuters report added.
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