BENGALURU: Stepping into the new year, there was not-so-good news for the country’s job seekers, as India’s jobless rate rose to a 16-month high at 8.3% in December 2022, due to the sharp spike in urban unemployment rate at 10.09%. In November, it stood at 8%.
According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, the urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09% in December from 8.96% the previous month. The unemployment rate in rural areas slipped to 7.44% in December from 7.55% in November.
Experts do not see any significant new employment opportunities in coming months due to headwinds in global markets and also because of the sudden spike in Covid cases.
“Consumer goods, automotives and financial services have had a good run around the festive season of September-December. To cater to this upswing, new jobs were created in August-September. Construction, engineering and manufacturing have not grown considering the inflationary pressures,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD and CEO of CIEL HR Services.
IT, outsourcing and tech-driven startups and services had subdued activity in December, impacting employment negatively. With global recession fears and slowdown in client spending, the IT industry may face more challenges in 2023, particularly in the fourth quarter. Many startups laid off staffers in recent months.
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“Travel, hospitality and tourism sectors have been on a high in December. However, they have not increased employment because they are optimising their resources now and backfilling the vacant spots. Pharma, healthcare and life sciences have remained stable in their employment,” Mishra added.