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Survey shows large-scale job losses, lower food intake amid lockdown
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SME Times News Bureau | 03 Jun, 2020
A survey conducted by the Azim Premji University has shown heavy job
losses for informal and migrant workers in the four states of Bihar,
Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh due to the lockdown.
The
disruption in the economy and labour markets in these states is
enormous. Livelihoods have been devastated at unprecedented levels
during the lockdown and the recovery from this could be slow and very
painful, the survey pointed out.
It found that Covid-19 and its
associated safety measures, such as the lockdown since March 24, have
taken a heavy toll on the economy, particularly on the vulnerable
informal and migrant workers and their families.
The survey
measured levels of employment and earnings since the lockdown was
imposed, and compared them to the situation prevailing in February. It
covered self-employed, casual and regular wage/salaried workers.
The sample for the survey was selected using the networks of civil society organisation collaborators.
"The
findings pertain only to the sample and are not representative of the
entire state. Findings should not be compared across states," it said.
For
the survey in Bihar (Rural) with 173 respondents, it said nearly half
(46 per cent) of the respondents lost employment. Casual wage workers
were more severely affected, with eight in 10 casual workers losing
jobs.
More women (55 per cent) lost employment compared to men
(35 per cent). More SC/ST workers (58 per cent) lost employment compared
to OBC workers (35 per cent). Nearly seven in 10 households had to
reduce their food intake during the lockdown.
The SC/ST
households were the worst affected in terms of food intake as 85 per
cent of them were consuming less food than before.
Nearly two in
10 vulnerable households did not receive rations. More than half (56 per
cent) of the vulnerable households did not receive Jan Dhan cash
transfer. Four in 10 vulnerable households did not receive any cash
transfer, the survey said for Bihar.
For Jharkhand (Rural) with
458 respondents, the survey found that nearly six in 10 (58 per cent)
respondents lost their employment. Casual wage workers were more
severely affected with 76 per cent reporting loss of employment.
Nine
in 10 farmers (89 per cent) were not able to harvest or sell their
produce at full price. Four in 10 salaried workers (42 per cent) were
not paid salaries or faced pay cuts during the lockdown.
For
non-agricultural, self-employed workers and wage workers, who were still
employed, average weekly earnings fell by two-third (65 per cent).
Nearly
eight in 10 (77 per cent) households reported reducing their food
intake during the lockdown. Casual wage workers were more severely
affected with nine in 10 (93 per cent) casual wage workers reporting
reduced food intake.
Six in 10 vulnerable households did not
receive Jan Dhan cash transfer and more than half (54 per cent)
vulnerable households did not receive any cash transfer.
In
Odisha, the survey of 503 respondents found that two-third (67 per cent)
respondents reported losing their employment. The urban self-employed
people were the worst-hit with nearly all of them (96 per cent) losing
their employment.
The earnings of casual wage workers and non-agricultural self-employed people who retained their employment fell by 80 per cent.
Nine
in 10 farmers were unable to harvest or sell their produce at full
price. Eight in 10 households reported consuming less food during the
lockdown than before. Urban households and migrants were more severely
affected with nine in 10 reporting reduction in food intake.
The
ration distribution was good with nearly nine in 10 households receiving
rations. However, seven in 10 vulnerable households did not receive Jan
Dhan cash transfer. A quarter of vulnerable households did not receive
any cash transfer.
In Madhya Pradesh (Rural) with 525
respondents, the survey found that almost half of the respondents (48
per cent) lost employment during the lockdown, and the worst-hit were
the casual workers, with 65 per cent of them losing their jobs.
More
than seven in 10 farmers were unable to harvest or sell their produce
at full price. One-fourth of households did not have money to buy even a
week's worth of essentials. SC/ST households were more constrained as
compared to OBC and general category households.
Seven in 10
households were consuming less food than before during the lockdown. As
many as 45 per cent of all vulnerable households did not receive Jan
Dhan cash transfer. Nearly four out of 10 (36 per cent) vulnerable
households did not receive any cash transfer.
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