The unemployment rate in India increased to 7.8% of the total workforce in June from 7.12% in May, according to data released on Monday by think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

The total number of jobs in the country fell by over 1.3 crore from nearly 40.4 crore in May to 39 crore in June, the data showed. This constituted the biggest fall in employment during a non-lockdown month, the organisation’s managing director Mahesh Vyas wrote in an article in the Business Standard.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy calculates the unemployment rate in India to provide estimates of the country’s workforce based on a panel size of over 1.78 lakh households.

The rise in unemployment in June was driven by the lack of jobs in villages, the think tank’s report said. Unemployment in rural areas rose to 8.03% in June as compared to 6.62% in May. Meanwhile, unemployment in urban areas reduced to 7.30% in June from 8.21% in May.

Rainfall in the country was 32% below normal during the first fortnight of June, which may have slowed down the employment of labour in fields, Vyas wrote in Business Standard. Employment in rural areas may revive as the monsoon picks up pace in the coming weeks, he said.

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, Haryana had the highest unemployment rate in June (30.6%) among all states, followed by Rajasthan (29.8%) and Jammu and Kashmir (17.2%). On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh had the lowest unemployment rate (0.5%), followed by Puducherry (0.8%), Chhattisgarh and Odisha (1.2% each).

According to 2021 data from the World Bank, only 43% of India’s working age population has a job. The figure is lower than that of Bangladesh at 54%. Even Pakistan manages to do better at 48%.