India’s unemployment rate jumps at 15-month high: CMIE

New Delhi: In a major headache for the Modi government, India’s unemployment rate jumped to highest rate in last 15 months in February as there are still not enough jobs after 15 months of demonetisation, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The unemployment rate had reached a 71-week high in the week ended February 25, according to CMIE.

The number of persons unemployed and are actively looking for a job almost touched 31 million in the week ended February 25, it said. This is the highest count of unemployed since October 2016. This seems to suggest that labour that is entering the markets in search of jobs is not finding them in sufficient numbers, said CMIE data posted on their website. “The unemployment rate increased to 6.1 per cent in February 2018. It was 5 per cent in January,” said Mahesh Vyas Managing Director and CEO, CMIE in an article posted on firm’s website.