THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rural unemployment in Kerala appears to have resumed its northward journey after bucking the trend briefly in 2022-23.

The number of jobless youths in rural Kerala increased to 76 per thousand in 2023-24, from 65 in the previous year. The national average in these years was 25 and 24, respectively.

Also, Kerala had the fourth-highest rural unemployment rate in both years, according to the ‘Handbook of Statistics on Indian States’ released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently.

However, signalling a positive trend in the urban labour market, the unemployment rate in the state’s urban areas dipped to a 10-year low of 67 per thousand in 2023-24. The national average was 51.

In the past 10 years, Kerala recorded its highest rural unemployment rate — 107 per thousand — in 2014-15.

Dip in unemployment rate in urban areas

The second-highest peak was in 2017-18 — 100 per thousand. The lowest rate during the period (65 per thousand) was recorded in 2022-23. The unemployment rate among rural women was more than double that of men. It increased to 121 in 2023-24 from 92 in the previous year. Joblessness among rural males showed a slight decline — from 47 in 2022-23 to 46 the next year. Still, it was nearly double the national average of 27.

However, joblessness among urban females showed a sharp decline to 109 in 2023-24, from 129 in the previous year. Joblessness among urban males declined from 48 to 44 during the period. The national average for females and males was 71 and 44, respectively.

Professor Vinoj Abraham of the Centre for Development Studies said the rising unemployment rates need to be read with caution. “Declining unemployment rate was associated with falling wages and increased unpaid family labour in the recent past. The current rise in unemployment may be an indicator that now more women can afford to stay unemployed for a longer period, searching for better and suitable job options,” he said.

The story is reported by M S Vidyanandan of The New Indian Express