India’s economic outlook has weakened slightly, with worst-case scenario forecasts suggesting the toll from the coronavirus pandemic could be much deeper, stoking fears the job crisis may worsen over the coming year, a poll from Reuters found. Underscoring concerns that a slow vaccine rollout may make a bigger dent in the economy, the consensus showed in a worst-case scenario the economy would average 6.8% growth this fiscal year after its deepest ever recession last year. India's unemployment rate soared to a near one-year-high of 14.73% in the week ending May 23, according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), reflecting the impact of the economic slowdown. When asked if there was a risk that India's unemployment situation could worsen over the coming year, more than 85% of respondents said it was high.

Reuters’ poll from 20-27 May, showed the outlook for the current quarter was lowered to 21.6% annually, and to 9.8% on average for this fiscal year, down from 23.0% and 10.4% respectively a month ago. The economy was then forecast to grow 6.7% next fiscal year, compared to 6.5% predicted previously. While the consensus pointed to healthy growth figures later this year, all economists polled warned the outlook was either "weak and prone to further downgrades" or "fragile, with a limited downside."