India’s unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in 2017-18 fiscal year, according to the statistics ministry on Friday. Earlier, same figure was leaked to a newspaper which said the figures were highest since 1972-73.
The government declined to provide comparable numbers for the jobless rate. “It’s a new design, new metric… It would be unfair to compare it with the past,” chief statistician Pravin Srivastava told media.
The government had earlier told Parliament that it did not have data on the impact of demonetisation on jobs in small businesses.
The data report had leaked in March, 2019, a day after the National Statistical Commission dived into a controversy when two of National Statistical Commission members which included the acting chairman resigned.
