Happy monsoon season: Unemployment rate falls to pre-lockdown level of 8.5%

The big gain in employment is happening in rural India and it might see bigger gains in the months to come or at least sustain the momentum

The unemployment rate fell to its pre-lockdown level of 8.5 per cent in the week ended Ju­ne 21. The rate had spiked from 8.75 per cent in March to 23.5 per cent in April and May. It had peaked at 27.1 per cent in the week ended May 3. It began to fall thereafter — initially hesitatingly and then precipitously in June. The rate had fallen to 20 per cent in the last week of May that ended on the 31st.

In the first three weeks of June the unemployment rate dropped dramatically to first 17.5 per cent, then 11.6