The unemployment rate in India declined to 6.5% in January 2021 from 9.1% in December 2020, while the employment rate surged to 37.9% as compared to 36.9% the month prior, reports Business Today, citing data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Employment in India, however, remained lower than it was before the pre-Covid levels. Nearly 12 million additional people were employed during January 2021 at 400.7 million as compared to 388.8 million in December 2020, which was the highest since lockdown began in March 2020. The surge in employment in January also compensated for the loss in the past three months. Mahesh Vyas, CEO, CMIE, said, “Employment declined in each of the three months October through December 2020. The recovery in January 2021 is therefore a welcome relief.”