India added 8.8 million jobs in April: CMIE report

In one of the largest expansions in the labour market since the beginning of the pandemic, 8.8 million people joined the country's workforce in April, as per data provided by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). However, the jobs that became available were inadequate compared to the demand, it said.

India's labour force increased by 8.8 million to 437.2 million in April, one of the largest monthly increases since the beginning of the pandemic, CMIE Managing Director and CEO Mahesh Vyas said. The country's labour market was at 428.4 million in March, he added.

In 2021-22, the average monthly increase in the country's labour force was 0.2 million, as per the data. The report said that an 8.8 million increase in labour force participation was only possible if some working-age people who were out of jobs joined the working population in April.

This is because the working-age population cannot grow by more than two million per month and any rise beyond that implies that those who were out of jobs returned to the workforce, the report said. It may be useful to note that the 8.8 million increase in April comes after a 12 million fall during the preceding three months, it said.