The October trend continued into the new month. The unemployment rate across the country rose further. Rural areas are again at the center of concern. That rate stood at 8.68% in the week ending November 6. Whereas in the country it is 8.42%. This is what has come out in the research report of the consultancy firm CMIE.
Rate of unemployment
The unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in September (6.43%). But last month it started raising its head again. 7 points from 6.43 percent to 77 percent. The worrying aspect of the CMIE report is that last month’s increase in unemployment has continued into the beginning of this month. And it is upward. It has been reported that the unemployment rate in the country has jumped from 6.69% to 8.42% in the current week. Even if that rate increases in the city, it is comparatively less. 7.87% from 7.39%. But in villages, it has increased from 6.37% to 8.68 percent.
That is, increased by more than 2 percentage points. However, some experts believe that weekly statistics do not accurately reflect the nature of the labor market.
The CMIE report explained that, in addition to the increase in the unemployment rate last month, the participation rate in the labor market decreased. The occurrence of these two events together means a direct reduction in work. According to auditors’ calculations, 78 target jobs fell across the country in October. The number of unemployed increased by 56 lakhs. And about 22 lakh people removed themselves from the job market. Exactly what happens when there aren’t enough jobs for people entering the job market? As a result, the total number of people looking for work also decreased from 43.2 crores to 42.98 crores.
This net decrease is almost entirely in rural areas. Where the number of people in the unorganized sector is very high. However, the significant thing is that despite the reduction of work in the agricultural sector in the last year, the opposite has happened. Huge employment losses in the service sector. Especially in rural retail. That trend continues into early November.
According to a leaked National Statistics Office (NSO) report ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the country’s unemployment rate reached 6.1 percent in the 2016-17 financial year. Which is the highest in four decades. Despite denying it at the time, the Modi government accepted the report after a landslide victory in the elections. But since then, the government released no comprehensive statistics on unemployment or the labor market. But according to the concerned circles, if the CMIE statistics are respected, the unemployment rate is higher now than it was then.
Demand about GST having one rate
Prime Minister’s Financial Advisory Council Chairman Vivek Debray feels that there should be one rate of GST in the country. Although he thinks that it will never happen. In an event on Monday, he also advocated for the removal of all types of tax exemptions. However, he said, these are not recommendations of the council.