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India – Unemployment rate spikes to four-year high in December (New Indian Express)

04 January 2022

India’s unemployment rate reached a four-month high of 7.91% in December 2021 against 7% in November and 7.75% in October, reports the New Indian Express, citing data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. The urban unemployment rate was 9.30% in December while it was 7.28% for rural areas. In November, the figures were 7% and 8.21%, respectively. The last time the unemployment rate soared was in August 2021, at 8.3%. The latest spike seems to be linked to the Omicron-driven Covid surge, according to Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, staffing, at Randstad India. “Due to rising Omicron cases, many employees have reverse-migrated to their home towns. Restricted attendance in offices could be the cause of stalling in the hiring plans of many companies across sectors,” said Giri, adding that the overall consumer sentiment has also fallen as people prefer to stay at home.

“December usually sees a slowdown in hiring, as the festive season winds down and picks up somewhat during the last week,” Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice-president at staffing firm TeamLease Services said. Chakraborty does not think that Omicron influenced the jobless rate as it was only in the last week of December the country saw a spike.