Around 3.2 million salaried employees rendered jobless in July: CMIE

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At least 3.2 million salaried people were rendered unemployed in July, the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. Nearly, 79.70 million people had salaried jobs in June. The figure for the same in July stood at 76.49 million, signalling a deficit of 3.2 million.

In July 2019 in the pre-pandemic era, 86 million people had salaried jobs.

Jobs in urban areas

Of the total number of salaried jobs lost, 2.6 million were from urban areas. The number of salaried employees dropped from 48.71 million in June to 46.15 million in July, showing a slow recovery in the formal sector in terms of employment.

More farmers, small traders, and labourers

The number of small traders and wage labourers went up in July. The number stood at 30.42 million in July, exceeding June’s figure by 2.4 million.

July also saw a growth in the number of people working in the agricultural sector. As compared to June, there were 1.7 million more farmers in India and the big pool of farmers got even bigger.

Changing job market

As per economists, the main factor behind job losses is the structural weakness of the job market. The other contributing factors include a shift towards self-employment, cutting down in the number of temporary workers and gig workers. This was seen in sectors like retail, trade, and other non-professional services which have added to the feeble job scenario in July.

Nearly 400 million employed as of July-end

According to CMIE statistics, by the end of July, there were 399.38 million people employed in India. This figure is inclusive of both salaried and non-salaried jobs and exceeds the June-end figure by 16 million. The surge in the number can be attributed to agriculture, which gave employment to 163.25 million.

The CMIE conducted the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey which says that the economy is undergoing a V-shaped recovery after the second wave. It also adds that it would be a wise move to wait for more data before jumping to conclusions.