The unemployment situation in Jharkhand is getting only worse with unemployment in cities of the state witnessing a more than three times increase in the last month. The latest data from the Center for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) reveals that unemployment in cities of the state stood at 5.6 per cent in July, which has increased to 19.1 per cent in August. There has been an increase of 13.5 per cent in unemployment in the cities of the state within a month. With industries closing in Jharkhand, people earning their livelihood have been hit hard. Even though there have been several stages of the unlock process, the economic cycle has not been completed for many industries and business has been affected. Unemployment in cities is on the rise as employment in organized sectors has been hit and layoffs are taking place in multiple industries. Even self-employed and small businesses are not able to get back on track.
The state’s unemployment was estimated at 7.6 per cent in July. This was slightly lower than the 8.2 per cent in March. After unlock, people who were already working in open industries and other businesses started getting work again. Workers who were earlier self-employed also got restored in large numbers. With transportation starting again, a large number of people have gone back to other states. Meanwhile, many industries closed as well as the demand and supply chains were not fulfilled in the cities. Mass layoffs have become the norm. The August report also shows an increase in the total unemployment figure which has increased from 7.6 per cent in July to 9.8 in August.
However, unlike the situation in the cities of Jharkhand, unemployment has decreased in the villages. According to the CMIE data, unemployment in villages of Jharkhand has been estimated to be 6.3 per cent after August which is lower than 8.4 per cent after July. Experts say that the reason for this is a large number of people getting work or being self-employment in agriculture. Also, a large number of people have been migrating from the villages of Jharkhand again with unskilled labourers going from villages to metros as well. Looking at the future, due to workers also migrating from the state for employment, the livelihood crisis in the villages looks at being resolved.
