India’s unemployment rate rose to a four-month high of nearly 8% in April, and the outlook remains weak with state administrations extending lockdowns to curb a record surge in virus cases.
Unemployment increased to 7.97% from 6.5% in March, with more than seven million jobs lost last month, according to data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt., a private research firm.
“There is a fall in the jobs available. This could be due to the lockdowns,” CMIE Managing Director Mahesh Vyas said by telephone. “Since the virus is still quite intense and we are stressed on the medical health-services front, it’s likely that the situation will remain tense in May as well.”
India’s virus surge leaves another 7 million people jobless
SECTIONS
Last Updated: May 03, 2021, 06:25 PM IST
Share
Synopsis
State govts have been forced to extend curbs as the nation’s creaky health infrastructure can’t cope with the flood of virus cases, jeopardizing a nascent economic recovery. The weak employment outlook is a risk for India’s chances of reaching double-digit economic growth this year. Many economists already have lowered their projections.
ANI
City-based labourers leaving for their native places. This comes amid a backlash against government s handling of Covid.
India’s unemployment rate rose to a four-month high of nearly 8% in April, and the outlook remains weak with state administrations extending lockdowns to curb a record surge in virus cases.
India Was On Recovery Path Just Before Second Wave Derailed Progress India Was On Recovery Path Just Before Second Wave Derailed Progress Fresh activity curbs amid the world s worst Covid-19 outbreak in India merit a real-time reading of the economy using other indicators.
Activity in India s dominant services sector moderated in March after expanding the previous month
Economic activity in India picked up speed last month, signaling it was well on the road to recovery before a new wave of coronavirus infections derailed progress. The needle on a dial measuring so-called animal spirits moved a notch higher for the first time in six months in March, based on the three-month weighted average numbers of eight high-frequency indicators tracked by Bloomberg News.
New Virus Wave Sparks Fresh Worker Exodus From India’s Cities Bloomberg 2 hrs ago Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Dhwani Pandya
(Bloomberg) India’s surging epidemic has forced both its financial and political capitals into lockdown, spurring a fresh exodus of migrant laborers fleeing the cities fearing vanishing jobs as panic rises over the ferocity of the country’s second Covid-19 wave.
The nation now has the world’s fastest-growing Covid-19 caseload, adding 259,170 new infections and 1,761 deaths on Tuesday, leaving it behind only the U.S. in terms of total numbers. As virus numbers have soared more state governments have announced localized shutdowns to try and tamp down on the surge.
Consumption of diesel the fuel that keeps Indias trucks, farms and factories running and accounts for almost 40% of oil-product sales was around 3% below 2019 levels in March. Industry consultant FGE cut its growth estimates for key fuels this quarter to about 30% from a year earlier, compared with an earlier projection of almost 35%.