The unemployment rate in India hit a four-month high in December 2021, according to the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) released on Monday.
In December last year, the unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7% in November, the highest since 8.3% in August.
Due to the rise in cases of the Covid-19 variant Omicron and social distancing restrictions in several states, economic activity and consumer sentiment have been hit in the South Asian nation.
Urban unemployment rate rose from 8.2% in November to 9.3% in December 2021, while the rural unemployment rate also increased to 7.3% from 6.4%, the data showed.
Several economists worry that the Omicron variant could reverse the economic recovery witnessed in the last quarter.
As the Centre doesn’t release monthly figures, Mumbai-based CMIE data on unemployment is closely watched by economists and policymakers.
(With inputs from Reuters)
