Congress MP Vijay Vasanth moves adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss India’s “unemployment crisis”

New Delhi: Citing CMIE and PLFS figures that reveal the unemployment rate was 7.8% in September 2024, Congress MP Vijay Vasanth on Tuesday submitted an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha to examine India’s “deepening unemployment crisis.”

“I stand to propose an adjournment motion to address India’s worsening unemployment situation, which still impacts millions of people and jeopardizes our country’s economic stability. Vasanth said in the notice, “The concerning patterns we have been observing over the years have only been validated by recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).”

According to Vasanth, who referenced the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report, employment did not significantly increase between July 2023 and June 2024.

In September 2024, India’s unemployment rate was 7.8%, which was a concerning drop in both the employment and labor participation rates. Despite several official assertions of job growth, the PLFS study also demonstrates that there has been no appreciable decline in the unemployment rate between July 2023 and June 2024. This demonstrates unequivocally that the government’s actions have not sufficiently addressed the job issue,” the notification said.

Congress MP Vasanth said in the notice that the unemployment crisis is not only a social problem but also an economic one that impedes the country’s progress.

He also emphasized that India’s unemployment issue is becoming worse, according to CMIE and PLFS statistics.

“The unemployment issue in India is evident from the statistics supplied by CMIE and PLFS, and things are becoming worse with time. With a notable increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, the jobless rate has varied from 5.44 percent in 2014 to 7.8 percent in September 2024. The unemployment rate peaked at 8.0 percent in 2020, and while it somewhat improved to 5.98 percent in 2021, it has already surpassed 7.0 percent for the second consecutive year, according to the notification.

According to Congress MP Vasanth, the unemployment situation requires urgent national and state response.

“The state-by-state unemployment statistics are similarly alarming, with Odisha having the lowest jobless rate at 0.9% and Haryana having the worst at 37.4%. These differences show that in order to address the unemployment issue holistically, immediate national and state-level initiatives are required,” the notification said.

On November 25, the winter Parliament’s first session began, but because of interruptions, both Houses were adjourned somewhat early. The winter session is scheduled to conclude on December 20.