After J&K, unemployment highest in Haryana: Survey
Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Chandigarh, July 4
The unemployment rate for all age groups in urban Haryana rose to 13.5 per cent in January-March (Q4) quarter from 11.5 per cent in the previous quarter and was second only to 15.6 per cent in J&K, shows the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. At 13.2 per cent, Kerala is at the third spot.
Among urban males (all age groups), Haryana had the highest unemployment rate of 13.3 per cent in Q4. In October-December (Q3-2021), it stood at 10.5 per cent. The all-India figure is 7.8 per cent. However, among urban women, the rate has decreased from 16.9 per cent in Q3 to 14.4 per cent in Q4. It’s still higher than the national figure of 10.1 per cent.
On the basis of the PLFS, the bulletins on employment and unemployment are brought in the current weekly status (CWS) for urban areas for each quarter. According to the CWS approach, a person was considered unemployed in a week if he or she did not work even for an hour on any day during the reference week despite being available for work. In the age group of 15 years and above, joblessness among urban Haryana men jumped from 10.5 per cent in Q3 to 13.2 per cent in Q4, which is the highest in the country, says the survey. The all-India figure for urban males is 7.7 per cent in this category. Among urban women in Haryana, joblessness, however, dipped from 15.5 per cent in Q3 to 14.4 percent in Q4. However, it is still higher than the all-India figure of 10.1 per cent. Overall in this category, the unemployment figure is 13.4 per cent for both males and females in Haryana, which is second only to J&K’s 15.4 per cent. The all-India figure is 8.2 per cent.
“The unemployment rate has increased by a few percentage points, which reflects that the job scenario hasn’t improved much over two quarters (Q3 and Q4). The shifting of workforce from secondary sector implies that construction and manufacturing sectors are either not growing or are not that labour-intensive,” said Prof Aswini Nanda from CRRID, Chandigarh.
“The shifting of workforce from secondary sector to agriculture is serious. It reflects decline in jobs in manufacturing and construction. However, women participation rate has increased in the state, as per the survey, which is a good sign,” said RBI Chair Professor Satish Verma (from the CRRID). In the age group of 15-29 years, the joblessness rate is 27.7 per cent for both urban males and females in Haryana, which is higher than the all-India rate of 20.2 per cent. Kerala leads the chart with 36.1 per cent unemployed. The state government has always denied the Opposition’s claims on unemployment in the state. The officials concerned in the government said they were yet to go through the survey to comment on its findings.
