By Zaid Bin Shabir | Kashmir Observer
Srinagar- The unemployment rate in April for Jammu and Kashmir has declined to 15.6 percent, as per the Indian think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) monthly frequency data.
According to the CMIE, the unemployment rate in the erstwhile state of J&K for the month of April, 2022 has declined to 15.6 percent in comparison to the drastic rate recorded at 25 percent in March 2022.
As per the data available, the unemployment rate (UR) in march had hit a new record with 25 percent unemployment in the first quarter of 2022. The UR had astronomically risen since last year and has touched its worst value in 2022, when compared to the past five years.
Pertinently, last month, the unemployment rate seems to be going towards poverty in J&K despite Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s repeated assurances of a falling unemployment rate in J&K.
The CMIE, a private economic think-tank in India, in its latest monthly report for the month of March 2022 had estimated the unemployment rate for J&K at 25 percent, which as per CMIE data, was the highest since 2016 when the unemployment rate was recorded at its worst— 29.9 percent.
Amid the unrest of 2016, J&K’s unemployment rate stood at 25.3 percent in September, 26.3 percent in October and 29.9 percent in November.
As per CMIE, since the start of this year, there has been an increase of 11.8 percent in the unemployment rate. In the month of January, the data notes, J&K’s UR stood at 15 percent. Though in the month of February it dipped down to 13.2 percent but in March the rate took an ugly turn and jumped to a grueling 25 percent.
However, the latest UR for the month of April has brought some respite as it has come down 10 percent from the erstwhile unemployment rate of March.
However, the data had come at a time when the passionate J&K administration had gone ahead to say that the employment in the erstwhile state will gradually increase. “Private investments in J&K would increase to Rs 70,000 crore to give fillip to employment and a peaceful environment in the region.” J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had said.
According to the CMIE’s “30 day moving average” survey, J&K’s 25.0 percent unemployment rate was the second-worst recorded unemployment rate among other states & union territories in India. The erstwhile state was succeeded by the state of Haryana where the unemployment rate stood at 26.7 percent.
Pertinently, a superficial look at last month’s data where J&K was standing at an unemployment rate of 25% had brought into forth that roughly over 1.1 million people were jobless in J&K.
Another credible labor survey report which substantiates the chronic unemployment scenario in the region was published by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for April-June 2021 quarter. As per that survey, J&K registered a staggering unemployment ratio of 46.3 percent.
If we look at the latest unemployment figures, Haryana has the highest Unemployment rate with 34.5 percent followed by Rajasthan where the UR stood at 28.8 percent. J&K has the fourth highest Unemployment rate in India, as per CMIE.
Meanwhile, as per CMIE, India’s national average was recorded at 7.8 percent where urban rate stood at 9.0 percent and rural rate was recorded at 7.2 percent.
Although the government has started the recruitment process for more than 40 thousand posts in 2020-21, most of them are still in the process.