HYDERABAD: Unemployment in Telangana has reduced from December, 2020 and the situation in the State is much better than the national rate, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said on Wednesday. However, experts say these figures look largely into the informal sector and that a more precise overview can be recorded if the data of the urban educated unemployed is also factored in.
The data, which was sourced from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economoy’s ‘Unemployment Rate Monthly Time Series’, shows a nearly two-fold improvement in Telangana’s unemployment rate. “The rate of unemployment in Telangana is much lower than the national average. The State recorded 7 per cent in December, 2020, which further decreased to 4.5 per cent in January, 2021,” Rama Rao said. A look into the State’s unemployment rate over the past few months shows that it has been a see-saw, with the numbers fluctuating every month.
Classic example of cyclical unemployment, say experts
For instance, after the high unemployment rate during lockdown, it drastically improved until it fell to 1.6 per cent in November, 2020, which is much better than 4.5 per cent in January, 2021. This fluctuation, as experts say, is a classic example of cyclical unemployment, which is the variation in unemployment caused by various factors such as harvesting seasons. Speaking to Express, economist Amir Ullah Khan said, “This improvement is over a poor base and any change will be recorded as an improvement.
It will also be erroneous to look at just informal unemployment because those rates are going to improve (the informal sector suffered during lockdown, but the situation improved a lot since then with many rejoining work). However, the data that should be looked into is the figures of the urban educated and unemployed — which is not available. These jobs disappear quickly, but are equally hard to regain.”
However, Telangana’s unemployment rate is indeed better than the national average. This has been the case for the past several months. According to the CMIE’s monthly time data, while in November, it was 1.5 per cent, the country’s was 6.5 per cent. Similarly in December, while the State’s rate was 7 per cent, India’s was 9.1 per cent. More recently, in January, while Telangana recorded 4.5 per cent, India recorded 6.5 per cent.