India's Unemployment rate all time high at 7.8% in March, highest in 3 months: CMIE data
New Delhi: According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Saturday, India's labor markets have been deteriorating, with the unemployment rate rising to 7.8% in March - the highest in three months. This follows a surge to 8.3% in December 2022, which declined to 7.14% in January this year, but edged up slightly to 7.45% a month later. The unemployment rate was higher in cities at 8.4% compared to 7.5% in rural areas.
Mahesh Vyas, the managing director of CMIE, explained that this problem is exacerbated by a fall in the labor force participation rate, which dropped from 39.9% to 39.8%. This led to a decrease in employment from 409.9 million to 407.6 million. According to experts, the end of the festive season that began in October last year until January this year, had a negative impact on employment in retail, supply chain, logistics, financial services and e-commerce. This resulted in a slowdown in fresh hiring, with the technology and start-up sectors also tightening their belts.
The data showed that the lowest unemployment rates were in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh at 0.8% each, followed by Puducherry at 1.5%, Gujarat at 1.8%, Karnataka at 2.3%, and Meghalaya and Odisha at 2.6% each.
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President Murmu departs for Vatican City to attend Pope Francis' funeral
New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Friday departed for Vatican City to attend the funeral of Pope Francis later this week.
She is accompanied by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju; Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, George Kurian; and Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Joshua De Souza, her office said in a post on X.
Murmu will be on a two-day visit to Vatican City and offer condolences on behalf of the government and people of India.
"President Droupadi Murmu departs for Vatican City to attend the State Funeral of HH Pope Francis," read the post from the President's secretariat.
Francis, who was the first non-European Pope in nearly 1,300 years, died on Easter Monday. He was 88.
Murmu will pay homage to Pope Francis by laying a wreath at Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City on Friday.
"On April 26, the president will attend the funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City, which will be attended by dignitaries from around the world," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
India declared a three-day state mourning on the passing of Pope Francis.
