COVID-19 impact | 21 million jobs added in May, no increase in salaried jobs: CMIE

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The month of May saw 21 million added jobs, according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). This, even as the unemployment rate for the month stood at 23.5 percent, the same as that for April.

"Of the 21 million jobs that got added in May, 14.4 million were of small traders and wage labourers. This workforce was the most vulnerable to the lockdown. They account for about a third of the total employed population," the report said.

It added, "In April, 71 percent of them had lost jobs. As the economy has been opening up gradually in parts of the country, these are back to their business. Since these are predominantly self-employed persons it is relatively easy for them to resume work when conditions permit."

The labour participation rate improved from 35.6 percent to 38.2 percent in May.Labour market conditions improved during the month with a rise in the labour force participation rate (LFPR), the report said. LFPR is a measure of the country's labour force, i.e. the section of working population in the age group of 16-64 in the economy currently employed or seeking employment.

According to the report, "While the main labour market metrics indicate an improvement in May compared to April, the labour market conditions still remain much weaker than they were before the lockdown."

The employment numbers still remain much lower than the average figures for the 2019-20 period as only 303 million people were employed in the country in May 2020, as opposed to the 404 million people employed, on an average, in 2019-20.

However, the situation was better when compared to the numbers for April this year. The employment situation in April was grim, with numbers having fallen to 282 million, a loss of nearly 122 million as compared to the average employment numbers for 2019-20.

Meanwhile, even as 21.2 million more people were employed in May as against that in April this year, the count of those unemployed also rose by 6.3 million.

The report also highlighted that the labour force also increased substantially during this period, by around 27.5 million, as a number of people who had left the active labour markets in April, returned in May.

However, the CMIE report said that there was no increase in salaried jobs in May, with the number having seen a marginal decline instead (from 68.4 million in April to 68.3 million in May).

Another point of worry, it noted, was the age distribution of the newly added jobs in May.

"While employment increased in all age groups by different quantities, employment in the 25-29 year age group declined. The decline was small - from 30.8 million employed in this age bracket in April 2020 to 30.5 million in May 2020. Yet, being the only age group to suffer a fall in May besides those over 65 years of age, it stands out as a sore thumb," the report noted.