India's urban unemployment rate climbs to almost 10% following curbs and partial lockdowns in several states, reports LiveMint, citing data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. The urban unemployment rate climbed to 9.81% in the week ended 11 April against 7.72% in the week ended 28 March and 7.24% for the whole of March. The labour market, which was slowly recovering over the past few months, now looks to erase the gains and is poised for a tough time at least in the short run. The sudden rise shows how the second wave of Covid-19 cases and ensuing partial restrictions in cities and urban centres are impacting the labour market. The unemployment spike is not confined to just urban centres, the national unemployment rate and rural joblessness too have risen sharply in past few weeks. While the national unemployment rate was 6.65% in the week ended 28 March, it went up to 8.58% in the week ended 11 April. Rural unemployment rose to 8% from 6.18% in the same period. Economists said the hardest hit are the informal sector and, in the formal space, retail and hospitality.