The Budget must move beyond structural reforms and big infra projects to fund the rural jobs programme, generate urban employment, develop industry-oriented skills, and enable collection of good quality data on migrant and informal workers
A BSF and CISF recruitment rally in Srinagar. Despite an economic recovery, the unemployment rate touched 7.9 percent in December
Image: Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times via Getty Images
The optimistic economic recovery in India is yet to reflect in the labour market.
India’s unemployment rate touched a four-month high of 7.9 percent in December 2021, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which also records urban unemployment at 9.3 percent and rural unemployment at 7.28 percent. Economists tell Forbes India that there continues to be wage and work insecurity among those employed, which makes it important for the upcoming Budget to prioritise creating a targeted, sector-specific approach toward job-creation and skill development.
(This story appears in the 28 January, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)