UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 8.7% IN U’KHAND, SHOWS DATA

Uttarakhand’s unemployment rate rose to 8.7 per cent in June from 2.9 per cent in May, a three- fold increase, the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows.

The state recorded the fourth highest rise (5.8 per cent) in the unemployment rate among states in terms of percentage. Only Assam (9 per cent), Haryana (6 per cent), and Rajasthan (7.6 per cent) recorded more rise in unemployment rate than that of Uttarakhand in June, the data shows.

The national average of unemployment rate for June remained at 7.80 per cent.

The year started with 3.5 per cent of unemployment rate in January, which rose to 4.6 per cent in February. It came down to 3.5 per cent in March.

In April, the unemployment rate was 5.3 per cent. However, it went down to 2.9 per cent in the next month.

The unemployment rate of 8.7 per cent in June is the highest since October 2020 when the figure stood at 9.2 per cent.

Unemployment is a major issue in the hilly state, as it is one of the major reasons for migration, the Uttarakhand migration commission has stated in its several reports.

Skill development minister Saurabh Bahuguna could not be contacted for comments despite several attempts.

Congress’ Uttarakhand unit spokesperson Garima Dasauni said the government should be held accountable for the unemployment rate shooting up to 8.7 per cent and breaching the national average within a month despite the government’s claim they were taking every possible step to generate employment.

“If they (govt) say unprecedented number of pilgrims came to Uttarakhand for Char Dham, then where are the jobs in the tourism sector? It should have been reflected in overall job figures. Government organises investors’ summits by spending crores of taxpayers’ money, but they failed to address the unemployment problem,” she said, asking the government to release a white paper on unemployment scenario in the state.