7 lakh lost jobs since lockdown imposed on May 5

BHUBANESWAR: Over seven lakh people in Odisha have lost their jobs since the lockdown was re-imposed on May 5 to cut the rapid transmission of coronavirus in the state. As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy's (CMIE) latest data, the unemployment rate in Odisha was around 2 per cent (1.9 per cent) in April, but by May-end it shot up to 7 per cent. Due to this, an estimate reveals that in May, over 10.09 lakh had no jobs at hand as against a mere 2.76 lakh in April.

Among the 28 states, Odisha is among the top-five where the rates of unemployment have posted a sharp rise vis-a-vis the previous month.

Significantly, this massive blow to job creation has come at a time when during the first quarter of the year that ended in April 2021 the number of unemployed in the state had increased by nearly 1.24 lakh vis-a-vis the previous quarter of September-December 2020.

Historically seen, Odisha has always recorded a double-digit unemployment rate in the age-group of 15 to 24 years. The rates in the beginning of the year 2020 stood at 12.62 per cent in the age-group of 15 to 19 years and 18.09 per cent in the age-group of 20-24 years. However, when cut to January to April 2021, the unemployment rate had shot up sharply to 35.46 per cent and 14.91 per cent respectively in these age-groups.

An analysis of the district-wise data nails the prime cause. It has been observed that the districts that had a higher share in Odisha's employment chart have been the worst hit by the second Covid-19 wave. Cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and industrial districts like Sundergarh and Jharsuguda that provide employment in the range of 2.5 -4.9 lakh were the worst hit in the second surge in the state, leading to the loss of jobs.