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The second wave of Covid-19 has led to over 1 crore job losses in the country. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data around 97% of households’ incomes have declined since the beginning of the pandemic last year.

In the month of May India’s unemployment rate had shot up sharply to its highest level in the last year at 11.9% compared to 7.97% in April with the second wave of the pandemic forcing stringent lockdowns across states.

The CMIE’s nationwide survey of over 1.75 lakh households highlights worrying trends in income generation during the last year.

Only 3% of those polled said they have witnessed an increase in incomes, while 55% said their incomes have declined, as per the survey.

An additional 42% of the people said their incomes remained the same as that in the year-ago period.

CMIE chief executive Mahesh Vyas said, “If we adjust for inflation, we find that 97 % of the households in the country have witnessed a decline in incomes during the pandemic.”

The labour participation rate, or the percentage of the working-age population which is in the market, has come down to 40% as of now from the pre-pandemic levels of 42.5%, he added.

The unemployment rate had touched a record high of 23.5% in May 2020 because of the national lockdown.