17.92% dip in rural unemployment: Study

Data issued on Monday by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed that there has been biggest improvement in percentage terms in the rural job loss rate in nine weeks. Rural unemployment rate fell to 17.92% in the week ended 31 May from 25.09% in the previous week, underscoring the impact of the easing of coronavirus-induced curbs across most parts of the country.

This impressive development has been attributed to the unlocking of the rural economy and the results of better fund allocation for the rural jobs scheme. Consequently, the national unemployment rate was 20.19% in the week ended 31 May, improving from 24.34% a week earlier, and is the lowest rate of national unemployment rate after 22 March, when it touched 8.41%.

“The improvement in rural unemployment rate is a guard against high urban unemployment rate. A betterment in job scenario in rural areas due to several factors, including better fund allocation for national rural employment guarantee scheme means migrants who have gone back may not return immediately, easing pressure on urban centres for jobs. The even distribution of workforce is good at a crisis time,” Shyam Sundar, a labour economist and professor at XLRI, Jamshedpur said.