The unemployment rate in India rose to 7.78% in February, the highest since October 2019, Reuters reported on Monday, citing data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. This reflects a decline in economic activity in the country.

In rural areas, the unemployment rate increased to 7.37% in February from 5.97% in January, while in urban areas, it fell to 8.65% from 9.70%, according to the data released by the Mumbai-based private think-tank.

This came after India’s economic growth slipped to a nearly seven-year low of 4.7% in the October-December quarter. The figures released by the government last week had made significant revisions to the estimates for the previous two quarters. For the July-September 2019 quarter, the economic growth was revised upwards to 5.1% from 4.5% estimated earlier. Similarly, the April-June growth was revised upwards to 5.6% from 5%. This meant the growth in October-December was the lowest in 27 quarters.