Over 10 million Indians have lost their jobs because of the second wave of COVID-19, and around 97 per cent of households’ incomes have declined since the beginning of the pandemic last year, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) chief executive Mahesh Vyas said on Monday.
The unemployment rate measured by the think-tank is expected to come at 12 per cent at the end of May as against 8 per cent in April, Vyas told a news agency, adding this signifies that about 10 million or 1 crore Indians have lost jobs in this period.
Stating that the main reason for the job losses is “mainly the second wave” of COVID-19 infections, Vyas said, “As the economy opens up, part of the problem will be solved but not entirely.”
He explained that people who lose jobs find it hard to get employment, specifying that while the informal sector jobs come back quickly, the formal sector and better-quality job opportunities take up to a year to come back.
Unemployment rate had touched a record high of 23.5 per cent in May 2020 because of the national lockdown.
Many experts opine that the second wave of infections has peaked and states will slowly start to ease the economic activity-impacting restrictions in a calibrated fashion.
Surjitt Sahani
