Nationwide Lock-down triggers the employment rate in India. The national unemployment rate falls to 11.66% from 17.51 % on June 14, which is much greater than the level of job loss before the lockdown according to the survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CME). In the second week of June, there is a gradual decline in the unemployment rate, this is because, shops, offices, self-employment avenues reopened after the government uplifted the lockdown curbs after more than two months. In addition to that ongoing summer crop planting season and the rural employment guarantee plan, it also provides employment opportunities in the rural areas.
Gradually the unemployment rate in rural areas showed a gradual decline in the overall unemployment rate. CMIE said that the rate of job loss declines to 10.96% from 17.7% on June 14. That compares with the Job loss rate between rural India which is about to 8.29% and 8.41 % nationally in the week to March 22 three days before the lockdown has declared. CMIE also noted that the urban unemployment rate is 13%, which is higher than the rural and overall job loss rate nationally. Economists and job experts, however, informed that the improvement in the employment rate is large because of growth in casual work and self-employment. This does not mean that it is because of growth in the formal sector Job. Operational activity in the industry has started to improve still recovery of the daily wage employment and formal sector jobs will take a much longer time. Thyagarajan, Chairman of the TMC group said that from the analysis data points and ground-level interaction with the people and corporate it is clear that the wage work is coming back. Almost 75 % of the people in the labor market are engaged in non-wage work, where they can earn a livelihood through agricultural work and casual Jobs.
Satish Mehrotra, professor at JNU said that there were mainly three reasons behind the sharp increase in the employment rate. Firstly the sowing season is on and it absorbs people. Secondly exception from the decline in the lockdown curbs. Thirdly, National rural employment has picked up. But what is the matter of concern is that these jobs are not formal. Experts argue that a lack of fair jobs has pushed more people into poverty.
