12 crore jobs lost in India during lockdown, fear of growing unemployment haunts workforce
Correspondent
NewsBits.in
NEW DELHI: Staggering it may seem but nearly 12 crore people have lost employment in the country during the lockdown that was imposed to stop Coronavirus pandemic.
As cities and towns remain shut, markets, construction work and all shops closed for almost 1-1/2 months, loss of livelihood is immense.
Migrant labourers and workers in unorganised sector who lost work--either stranded or on way to their homes, form a chunk of this figure. The statistics are scary and suggest that the situation may worsen, as economy has recieved a massive hit and there are no signs of a revival in near future.
Estimates suggest that around 12 crore jobs have been lost (report). The rate of unemployment rose to 23.5% in the month of April 2020. It said that almost one in four jobs were gone. The daily wage labourers, the private sector and the informal economy is the worst hit. There is little security for workers in the sector.
As India affected the strictest lockdown in the world, enterprises ranging from hotels to malls, industries to small units, airlines to transport, everything came to a standstill. The losses in April were more for those working in small trade and those working as daily wage labourers. However, entrepreneurs and salaried workers too suffered badly.
Mahesh Vyas, the CEO, has said that the total count of employed people is around 400 million (40 crore) and out of it, nearly 114 million (11.4 crore) lost employment. CMIE data shows that unemployment is highest in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Bihar--49.8%, 47.1% and 46.6% respectively.
The affect on crucial sectors of economy is throwing more and more people towards poverty. This is having huge impact on workers in both the formal and informal sectors. Lack of social security and no additional benefits make people in informal sector workers even more vulnerable.
