India's unemployment rate witnessed a sharp decline to 6.57 percent in January, the lowest since March 2021, as the country gradually recovers with the easing of restrictions following a decline in Omicron cases, according to CMIE.

While unemployment in urban India stood at 8.16 percent in January, in rural areas it was the lowest at 5.84 percent, as per data by the independent think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). In December, the unemployment rate stood at 7.91 percent, with urban at 9.30 percent and rural at 7.28 percent, it added.

Telangana reported the lowest unemployment rate at 0.7 percent in January, followed by Gujarat (1.2 percent), Meghalaya (1.5 percent) and Odisha (1.8 percent). However, Haryana had the highest unemployment rate at 23.4 percent, followed by Rajasthan at 18.9 percent.