SUBASH RAI
Sikkim, used to awards and all round appreciation, ended the year 2014 with the rather disconcerting broadcast that it has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Needless to add, this created quite a flutter, much embarrassment, quick denials and strong criticism.
This statistic is also in contradiction with other socioeconomic indicators of the State since Sikkim does boast a very high per capita income and has registered growth of a faster clip than most other states of the country. While in eyes of the lay people, employment and unemployment are clear cut identifiers, in the hands of data crunchers, it becomes a complicated status update. This leads to contradicting reports and widely different projections by different agencies. The unemployment rate in Sikkim also appears caught in a similar conundrum.
Sikkim, used to awards and all round appreciation, ended the year 2014 with the rather disconcerting broadcast that it has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Needless to add, this created quite a flutter, much embarrassment, quick denials and strong criticism.
This statistic is also in contradiction with other socioeconomic indicators of the State since Sikkim does boast a very high per capita income and has registered growth of a faster clip than most other states of the country. While in eyes of the lay people, employment and unemployment are clear cut identifiers, in the hands of data crunchers, it becomes a complicated status update. This leads to contradicting reports and widely different projections by different agencies. The unemployment rate in Sikkim also appears caught in a similar conundrum.
