Private sector salaries showed their worst growth in 10 years in the fiscal year 2018-19, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

A Hindustan Times analysis of the Prowess database compiled by the CMIE recorded that the share of salaries in sales revenue had come down for the first time in seven years.

The Prowess database has 4,953 companies that have sales and salary data for the last 10 years ending 2018-19. 

The companies showed negative real sales growth for four years starting in 2012-13, according to the HT report. There was an improvement in inflation-adjusted sales revenue growth in 2016-17 and 2017-18 but another dip in 2018-19.

The CMIE data on the urban unemployment rate showed that it is nearing a three-year high. The weekly unemployment rate rose for the fourth consecutive week ended August 11, 2019, according to a CMIE report. It shot up from 7.2 per cent during the week ended July 14 to 8.9 per cent in the latest week ended August 11, the report said.