ISSUES ON UNEPMLOYMENT IN INDIA

The unemployment rate in India, amidst lockdown and restrictions on mobility, is 12.81% as
of June 8th 2021 based on the data provided by the CMIE. Earlier, the unemployment rate in
India shot up from 6.5 per cent in March 2021 to 8 per cent in April 2021, to 14.7% by May
end, while the employment rate fell from 37.6 per cent in March to 36.8 per cent in April, says
the report of CMIE – Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.
In 2020, the unemployment rate in India fell to 7% in September 2020 from the record high of
29% since the country went into lockdown from March 2020, However, it later increased to
9.1% in December 2020. The unemployment rate again declined to 6.5 per cent in January
2021 from 9.1 per cent in December 2020, while the employment rate surged to 37.9 per cent
as compared to 36.9 per cent.

The lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak has forced many industries to shut down
thus increasing unemployment across the country. The problem of unemployment gives rise to
the problem of poverty. The government suffers extra borrowing burden because
unemployment causes a decrease in the production and less consumption of goods and services
by the people. Unemployed persons can easily be enticed by antisocial elements. This makes
them lose faith in the democratic values of the country.

People unemployed for a long time may indulge in illegal and wrong activities for earning
money which increases crime in the country. Unemployment affects the economy of the
country as the workforce that could have been gainfully employed to generate resources
actually gets dependent on the remaining working population, thus escalating socio-economic
costs for the state. For instance, a 1 % increase in unemployment reduces the GDP by 2 %. It
is often seen that unemployed people end up getting addicted to drugs and alcohol or attempts
suicide, leading to losses to the human resources of the country.

Though there are some schemes introduced by government such as Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, National Career Service Scheme, National Rural
Employment Programme etc… it is not used by all skilled persons. Most of the decline in
employment has happened due to the fall in the number of workers in agriculture and a sharp
fall in the absolute number of female workers. Roughly 37 million workers left agriculture in
the last six years. During the same time, 25 million women workers were out of the workforce.
While the trend of workers moving out of agriculture is seen since 2004-05 and is welcome, it
also points to the rising vulnerability of farm production. The crisis in agriculture in the last six
years has only accelerated the process. What is surprising is the trend of declining women
workers, which has absolutely no parallel in any developing or developed country of similar
per capita income. In most East Asian countries, the period of rapid growth was also
accompanied by a rising number of women workers.
the problem is not new and even earlier governments are to be blamed for the mess that the
economy is in. Unfortunately, blaming the data or earlier governments does not make people
who are looking for jobs vanish from the country. Stagnant wages and jobless growth are not
just indicators of a weakening economy, but also a recipe for political instability and a crisis in
the countryside. The least that is expected of the government is an acknowledgement of the
extent of the problem and then try to address it.