Urban Christian males, Sikh females have highest unemployment

 New Delhi, June 27 (IANS): Urban Christian males and Sikh females have the highest unemployment rates across religious groups, according to the findings of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18 shared by the government in Parliament on Thursday.

Joblessness has gone up across religious groups with Christians maintaining the top spot followed by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, said the survey.

The survey showed that 6.9 per cent of Christian rural males were unemployed as against 6.7 per cent Muslims, 6.4 per cent Sikhs and 5.7 per cent Hindus in the same category. The rate of joblessness was highest in Christian rural females at 8.8 per cent.

Both Sikh and Muslim rural females had an unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent each. The unemployment rate of Hindu females in rural areas was the lowest among religious groups at 3.5 per cent.

Joblessness among urban Christian males was also much above the other religious groups at 8.9 per cent. Among other groups, 7.5 per cent urban Muslim males, 7.2 per cent Sikhs and 6.9 per cent Hindus were unemployed.

Unemployment among urban females across the religious groups stood in double digits with highest rate of 16.9 per cent reported among Sikhs with 15.6 per cent Christians, 14.5 per cent Muslim and 10 per cent Hindus remaining jobless.

The unemployment rate includes both the principal status and subsidiary status, or that a person who has engaged in any economic activity for a period of 365 days or more during the preceding 365 days is considered employed.

The Minority Affairs Ministry in 2013 under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had claimed that unemployment rate, as per National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) Report, had declined in 2009-10 compared to 2004-05 in both rural and urban areas. The unemployment rate of Christians was highest in 2011-12.