V-SHAPED RECOVERY (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: Employment in India saw a V-shaped recovery after being adversely impacted between April and June 2020 during the Covid lockdown and during April-June 2021, when the second wave struck.

• In a V-shaped recovery, the economy experiences a sharp decline but then bounces back almost immediately to its pre-recession level. The period in which the economy remains at a low point (the bottom of the V) is extremely brief.

Key Points

• From the official survey data of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), the paper titled ‘Employment in India: Data Sources, Facts, and Trends’ showed that both worker-population ratio (WPR) and labour force participation rate (LFPR) were higher, while the unemployment rate was lower during October-December 2022 when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.
• The number of workers in the formal sector stood at 60 million in FY21, which was 11 per cent or 6.2 million higher than in FY19.