COVID-19: 1.89 crore salaried employees lost their jobs since April in India, says CMIE
According to the private think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), around 1.89 crore salaried persons were let go since April 2020, including 50 lakh employees who lost their jobs in July.
One of the worst impacts of the coronavirus pandemic has been on India’s job market. According to the private think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), around 1.89 crore salaried persons were let go since April 2020 – 50 lakh of them lost their jobs just last month.
With 40 lakh jobs being lost each month in May as well as June, and 50 lakh in July, the total job loss has risen to 1.89 crore.
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Though the data indicated an overall improvement in the employment rate since April, the CMIE said that the loss of jobs in the salaried segment is a source of worry. The report mentioned that daily wage workers and small traders accounted for over 9.1 crore.
The overall number of salaried jobs were nearly 1.9 crore short of their average in 2019-20. This was a 22 percent drop as compared to the previous fiscal year. The report also raised concerns over the country’s economic recovery since metrics like GDP and inflation are expected to remain bleak.
In addition to salaried employees, several entrepreneurs also hinted that they had become unemployed during the lockdown. This included businessmen and self-employed professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and taxi operators.
In addition to these, the think tank’s CEO Mahesh Vyas pointed out the increase in the number of people who have recently taken to farming.
“According to estimates from the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey, there were 11.3 crore people who declared their occupation as farming in 2019-20. This estimate had risen to 11.7 crore in March 2020, and the number remained the same in April as well. By June, this further rose to 13 crore,” he said in the report.
After witnessing massive job losses across sectors, many economists and industrialists appealed to the Indian government for support, with the hope to arrest the trend in the coming days.
Edited by Kanishk Singh