A National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) study shows the unemployment rate in rural India at the time was lower than in urban areas, a trend that could be attributed to the fact that the crisis, in its first phase, took a bigger toll on the organised sector in towns and cities than in the hinterland.

According to the eighth quinquennial survey on employment, the unemployment rate in rural areas was the highest for Christians ' 3 per cent among men and 6 per cent among women. In urban areas, the rate was the highest for Sikhs ' 6 per cent among men and 8 per cent among women.

Women in towns and cities were the worst affected among the four categories of workers ' urban male, urban female, rural male and rural females ' with their unemployment rate at 6 per cent. 'Unemployment rate' is the number of persons unemployed per 1,000 in the labour force. The survey was spread over 7,402 villages and 5,252 urban blocks covering 1,00,957 households and 4.59 lakh people.

Data shows a majority of employed in rural areas were 'self-employed', with about 54 per cent of male workers and 56 per cent of females bracketed in this category.

Among rural male workers, 'self-employment' was the highest for Sikhs (55 per cent), followed by Hindus (54 per cent). Among Christians in rural areas, a significant proportion of male (17 per cent) and female (11 per cent) workers was engaged in 'regular wage/salaried employment'.

In urban areas, workers were more or less engaged equally in 'self-employment' and 'regular wage/salaried employment', with the proportion of workers engaged in 'self-employment' being the highest for Muslims, followed by Sikhs.

Among urban Christians, a significant proportion of male (45 per cent) and female (61 per cent) workers was engaged in 'regular wage/salaried employment' Among urban Hindus, 44 per cent of male workers and 40 per cent female workers were engaged in 'regular wage/salaried employme-nt'. The worker population ratio (WPR) ' number of persons employed per 1,000 ' was higher for male workers than for females in all religious groups ' the differential being greater in urban areas. The male-female differential in WPR was the lowest among Christians, a sign of progressiveness. WPR was the highest for Christians in all categories except urban males, where WPR of Hindus was higher.

In rural areas, a majority male workers belonged to categories 'not literate' (28 per cent) or 'literate and up to primary' (28 per cent), while a majority female workers belonged to the category 'not literate' (59 per cent). The proportion of male workers with general education level 'secondary and above' was the highest for Christians (32 per cent), followed by Sikhs (30 per cent).