This comes amid new restrictions implemented to curb COVID transmission
India's unemployment rate increased to 7.91% in December, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economic Pvt. (CMIE), as the country deals with fresh COVID-19 cases.
The unemployment rate from CMIE's report is higher than the seven per cent recorded in November, according to Bloomberg, and is a new four-month high for the country.
According to reports, both rural and urban unemployment rates saw an increase from November to December. Rural jobless rate because 7.28%, while urban unemployment rate increased to 9.3% in the last month of 2021.
Meanwhile, the 30-day moving average saw India's unemployment rate at 7.8% as of January 2.
This comes as India reports a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the Omicron variant. The country reported 58,097 new infections on January 5, a six-fold increase in a week, BBC reported.
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Curfews and restrictions were reimposed in Delhi and Mumbai, the cities that accounted for nearly a third of the new cases.
With restrictions enforced again, there is growing concern that the country's projected economic recovery will be hampered.
The situation recalls a particularly devastating period for India back in April and May, where the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis saw hundreds of thousands of new infections.
It was also the time when unemployment was highest in India for that year, when May logged an 11.84% jobless rate.
