Kerala Economic Review 2021: Unemployment rate up in contrast to national trend

While the all-India unemployment rate has declined from 5.8% in 2018-19 to 4.8% in 2019-20, the rate in Kerala increased from 9% in 2018-19 to 10% in 2019-20.

Unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. As per the report, the unemployment rate among the state’s youth is much higher compared to that among other age groups.

Among educated (secondary and above) persons aged 15 and above, the unemployment rate in Kerala was 16.7%; it was 17% in rural areas and 16.4% in urban areas. In the current weekly status (CWS), for persons of age 15 and above, the rate was 8.8% in India.

The unemployment rate in India was 8.7% among males and 5.5% among females in rural areas, while the rates were 10.5% among males and 12.4% among females in urban areas at the national level. Whereas, the corresponding unemployment rate in Kerala was 14.1% among males and 21.2% among females in rural areas, while the rates were 15.3% among males and 20.4% among females in urban areas.

In Kerala, the youth account for around 23% of the state’s population. Unemployment is prevalent among this section in the state because young people lack adequate skills and work experience in emerging areas. In order to face the challenge, the report called for skill development and employment generation programmes.

According to the live register of employment exchanges in Kerala, the total number of job seekers as on December 31, 2015 was 34.9 lakh and it increased to 38.3 lakh by August 31, 2021. The distribution of job seekers by education level indicates that only 6.4% have qualifications below SSLC. About 93.6% of job seekers have qualifications of SSLC and above.

The number of professional and technical job seekers as on August 31, 2021 was 2.9 lakh. Data reveals that ITI certificate holders, diploma holders and those who studied engineering together constitute 57.4% of the total professional and technical job seekers. There are 56,540 registered engineering graduates and 11,103 medical graduates. Thiruvananthapuram district ranks highest in the number of job seekers in general and professional/technical categories. The total number of job seekers in the capital district is 5.8 lakh.