The Indian government’s decision to set up strict lockdown measures has culminated in the loss of jobs for another 7 million people and the outlook remains weak with state administrations extending lockdowns to curb a record surge in virus cases.

India’s unemployment rate rose to a four-month high of nearly 8% in April and local administrations have been forced to extend curbs as the nation’s creaky health infrastructure can’t cope with the flood of virus cases, jeopardizing a nascent economic recovery.

According to the data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt.,unemployment increased to 7.97% from 6.5% in March, with more than seven million jobs lost last month. 

CMIE Managing Director Mahesh Vyas said,“There is a fall in the jobs available. This could be due to the lockdowns. Since the virus is still quite intense and we are stressed on the medical health-services front, it’s likely that the situation will remain tense in May as well.”

The weak employment outlook is a risk for India’s chances of reaching double-digit economic growth this year. With the pandemic surging in full force in May too, the central government has to make humongous efforts to generate sufficient jobs.