It is a paradox of sorts for a state that depends on the services of 6.5 lakh migrant labourers that it is cited as being among the top in unemployment too.
The just-released report on unemployment, by the Union labour ministry, puts the country’s unemployment rate at 3.8 per cent.
Kerala is having one of the worst scenarios, with the rate touching 9.9 per cent. Only a few states like Tripura, Sikkim and Goa are the worse performers. Gujarat has posted a mere one per cent unemployment.
Goa tops the list, with 179 people per 1,000 population being unemployed, followed by 141 in Tripura, 126 in Sikkim, 99 in Kerala, 83 in Bihar and 78 in West Bengal.
The report prepared by the labour bureau, based on studies for the fiscal 2011-12, states that the unemployment of women in rural areas at the national level was 280 persons per 1,000 population, compared to 179 in urban areas.
In Kerala, it was 252 in the rural areas and 287 in the urban sector. This reverse trend was noticed in Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Tripura.
In the urban sector, the highest unemployment rate is estimated in Tripura — 236 persons per 1,000 population, followed by 229 in Sikkim, 145 in Kerala, 142 in Arunachal Pradesh and 139 in West Bengal.
In the case of unemployment among females, it was high at 69 persons per 1,000 population, when it is 29 in the case of males. Female unemployment rate was highest in Goa at 462, followed by 344 in Tripura, 262 in Kerala and 212 in West Bengal.
The highest female unemployment rate in urban areas is in Sikkim at 511 persons per 1,000 population, followed by 446 in Tripura, 402 in West Bengal and 375 in Kerala.
Labour officials were unwilling to speak about the report and said they were awaiting the details.