India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.30 pc in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8.00 pc in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Sunday. The urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09 pc in December from 8.96 pc in the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44 pc from 7.55 pc, the data showed.

Mahesh Vyas, managing director of the CMIE, said the rise in the unemployment rate was “not as bad as it may seem,” as it came on top of a healthy increase in the labour participation rate, which shot up to 40.48 pc in December, the highest in 12 months.