1.5cr Became New Poor Due to Pandemic: CPD

The loss of job was over 3 percent of the total labour force and some 1.5 crore people became new poor from the profound impact of the covid pandemic, according to a new study released today.

Of the job losses, some 6.7 per cent of jobs were lost in the urban informal economy and high-level job loss occurred during the immediate period while the highest amount of job loss would be in the SMEs and informal sector till the end of 2021, the study also added.

Some 0.4 million migrants lost their jobs during March-September, 2020, according to the study on "Recovery of the Labour Market during Covid-19: Role of Trade Union", conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the CPD, presented the key findings of the study at a virtual dialogue jointly organised by the CPD and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).

Slower recovery in terms of creating jobs in labour-intensive sectors, women-led enterprises were more vulnerable during the crisis period, about 50 per cent of enterprises have reported laying off 76-100 per cent of their workers, the study also found.