BSE launches data on unemployment, consumer sentiments

Top bourse BSE has launched the world's first high-frequency data on unemployment and consumer sentiments, a move that will help policymakers and companies get a better grip of the domestic economy.
The data, prepared by BSE in collaboration with leading business information firm CMIE, is the first instance of non-governmental organisations producing an unemployment measure for any country in the world.
"India does not have a fast-frequency measure of unemployment...This joint effort will produce a 30-day moving average measure of the unemployment rate in India everyday and a monthly unemployment rate at the end of every month," BSE said in a statement.

"It takes into account all observations available for a calendar month and is available from January 2016," it added.
Further, BSE and CMIE have also launched the consumer sentiment indices in partnership with University of Michigan, which has been producing similar data for the United States.
These indices would consist of 30-day moving average measures of consumer sentiments on a daily basis.

Its two major constituents are index of current economic conditions and the index of consumer expectations, the statement said.
The indices are based on response received from over 1.30 lakh individuals in about 39,600 households, both in rural and urban regions of the country.

"These important indicators for India are expected to help policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, academia, the media and the public at large get a better grip of macro- economic status of Indian economy," the exchange said.
BSE said it has released the rural and urban break-up of each of the indices, while it would also bring out statewise unemployment rates in a few months.
The data is available in the public domain and is free of cost.