At 6.1%, unemployment rate in India highest in 45 years: Govt record

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At 6.1%, unemployment rate in India highest in 45 years: Govt record

The NSSO's annual household survey of 2017-18 is the first after the November 2016 demonetisation

Thursday January 31, 2019 5:12 PM, ummid.com News Network

New Delhi: Unemployment in India stood at 6.1 percent in 2017-18, the highest in 45 years, in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) done by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Business Standard reported.

According to the report, which has not been made public but has been accessed by Business Standard, the rate of unemployment was higher than in rural India. The survey has dealt with the period up to March, 2018.

The NSSO's annual household survey of 2017-18 is the first after the November 2016 demonetisation, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared an overnight ban on high-value notes.

The NSSO report shows that unemployment was higher in urban areas at 7.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent in rural parts. More people were withdrawing from workforce as the labour force participation rate (LPFR) stood at a lower level than the previous few years, it shows.

"The rate of joblessness among rural males in the age group of 15-29 years jumped 3 times to 17.4 per cent in 2017-2018 compared to 5 per cent in 2011-2012. The unemployment rate for female youth in rural areas stood ay 13.6 per cent in 2017-18 as compared to 4.8 per cent in 2011-2012", the NSSO shows.

The report comes after a day two National Statistical Commission (NSC) members, including its acting chairman PC Mohanan, resigned on January 28, alleging that the government had withheld its release despite the NSC's approval.

PC Mohanan confirmed that one of the reasons why he quit was the delay in the release of the National Sample Survey Office's Periodic Labour Force Survey report. He said that he and JV Meenakshi, the only non-government members of the statistics body, felt sidelined and "not taken seriously".

Respondin on the findings of the leaked survey report, Congress President Rahul Gandhi who is regularly taking the union government to task over the rampant unemployment reminded PM Modi about the 2 crore jobs he had promised before the 2014 elections.

"NoMo Jobs! The Fuhrer promised us 2 Cr jobs a year. 5 years later, his leaked job creation report card reveals a National Disaster. Unemployment is at its highest in 45 yrs. 6.5 Cr youth are jobless in 2017-18 alone. Time for NoMo2Go", Rahul tweeted tagging the Business Standard report.

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