As it is known that no stringent, blanket nationwide lockdown was placed during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. But still, according to official data, many people became unemployment, as jobless claim rose to 18%. According to the data published, over 15 million jobs were lost during the month of May. The data was published by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). According to reports, people in the urban areas were the worst hit as urban joblessness rate rose to 18% in the week ending May 30. This was the highest rise in jobless claims in the past one year.
Mahesh Vyas, MD and CEO of CMIE, wrote on its website that “Employment fell from 390.8 million in April 2021 to 375.5 million in May 2021. This translates into a loss of 15.3 million jobs, or a 3.9% fall in employment in the month,”.
As has been previously reported, the urban unemployment rate has been on the continuous rise since early April 2021. On April 1, according to reports, the 30-day moving average of the urban unemployment rate was up to 7.2%. By May 1, it had reached 9.6% and then by May 23 it was 12.7%.
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Vyas stated that “May 2021 is also the fourth consecutive month of a fall in employment. The cumulative fall in employment since January 2021 is 25.3 million. Employment in January 2021 was 400.7 million. This has dropped to 375.5 million,”.
He further added that “They account for 22.7 million of the 25.3 million job losses in the past four months. This is the period of the severe second wave of Covid-19. During these two months, India witnessed lockdowns of varying degrees for different durations in different regions. It was a period of substantial disruption in economic activities which was bound to reflect in employment,”.
According to CMIE’s consumer pyramid household survey, it was reported that the impact during the two months of lockdowns, of varying degrees, particularly in May 2021 was severe on daily wage workers. In contrast to the detestable urban employment numbers, the rural unemployment rate showed a little relief . The rural employment rate on May 30 was 9.6%. It was lower than the 13.5% in the week that ended on May 23.
It is to be noted that employment in rural India received substantial impetus from the central government’s supportive employment scheme like MGNREGS. The scheme reportedly employed 341 million during April. This was the highest since July 2020
Usually, double-digit unemployment rate is not normal for a developing country like India. Last time the unemployment rate touched double-digits was in April and May 2020, when there was a stringent nationwide lockdown.
Talking about the effect of the second wave on the employment rate in India, Vyas stated that “There is no similarly draconian lockdown now although there are several local restrictions that restrain mobility in varying but distinctly milder degrees. The double-digit unemployment rate seen in recent times indicates that even these restrictions are taking a toll on the economy,”.