New Delhi, May 24: Over two months of lockdown to contain COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented jump in unemployment, shows latest data released by the Centre for Monitoring India Economy (CMIE). From 8.75 percent in first week of March - ahead of the imposition of nationwide shutdown - the rate of joblessness by May 22 has peaked to 24.6 percent. Unemployment Allowance of Rs 3,500 Announced by Modi Government? PIB Fact-Check Busts Fake WhatsApp Message Going Viral.

One of the worst-scenario of joblessness was reported from Haryana, which was struggling to create employment opportunities even before the imposition of lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the state, crippling jobs in several sectors and taking the unemployment rate in Haryana to 43.2 percent.

In the union territory of Puducherry, the unemployment has surged to 75 percent, showed CMIE data. In Northeast's Tripura, the rate has soared to 41 percent. Among least-affected states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, where the rate of unemployment stands at 2.2, 2.9 and 3.4 percent, respectively.

Check State/UT-Wise Tally of Unemployment in India

Unemployment Rate (%)
States (India) Apr 2020
Andhra Pradesh 20.5
Assam 11.1
Bihar 46.6
Chhattisgarh 3.4
Delhi 16.7
Goa 13.3
Gujarat 18.7
Haryana 43.2
Himachal Pradesh 2.2
Jharkhand 47.1
Karnataka 29.8
Kerala 17.0
Madhya Pradesh 12.4
Maharashtra 20.9
Meghalaya 10.0
Odisha 23.8
Puducherry 75.8
Punjab 2.9
Rajasthan 17.7
Sikkim 2.3
Tamil Nadu 49.8
Telangana 6.2
Tripura 41.2
Uttar Pradesh 21.5
Uttarakhand 6.5
West Bengal 17.4

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India was reeling under a prolonged economic slowdown since the onset of 2019, with several sectors reporting a demand slump. The economy was, however, grounded with the outbreak of coronavirus as the government was compelled to close down all non-essential businesses to prevent further rise in infections.

The lockdown, imposed on March 25 - was gradually relaxed from April 20 onwards. Certain economic activities were permitted in areas falling under the green and orange zones -- where the threat of coronavirus spread was low. The relaxations on May 18 were extended to more regions, including non-containment areas of red zones.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2020 12:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).