Divergence in rural wage growth

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Rural demand is not uniform across all states - at least that is the conclusion one might arrive at after talking to fast-moving consumer goods and automobile companies. Demand has been somewhat sluggish in some regions but has shown growth in others despite a seemingly subdued environment. The data on rural wage growth, one of the indicators of rural demand environment, too, show a wide divergence across states. The average wage growth rate of 7% in February is roughly the same as that in December last year. Six of 13 major states have shown wage growth higher than the national average. Related data for two important states, Punjab and Haryana, were not available