Corona epidemic and Unemployment

Unemployment in Bangladesh 

Unemployment is on the rise in countries affected by the global Corona epidemic.The industrial owners are struggling to sustain the industry and trade. Unable to survive, many are being forced to lay off workers. In order to reduce the cost and keep the industry and trade alive, the salaries of the workers are being reduced somewhere. Indian Reliance Group itself has also reduced the salaries of its employees. Various banks, insurance and other industries in Bangladesh have announced to reduce the salaries of their employees. Again, some have chosen the path of layoffs. As a result, private sector entrepreneurs are struggling to survive in a difficult struggle. Many banks have already announced layoffs and pay cuts in Bangladesh's banking sector. Similarly, most of the entrepreneurs are following the same path to keep the industries running. In this, the whole economy is in decline. Although the interest and installments of the bank loan were temporarily suspended for two to three months, it has now been resumed. As a result, whether the factory is closed or running, whether it is a business loss or a profit, the installments and interest of the bank loan have to be paid. As a result, on the one hand, the entrepreneurs of the industrial sector have fallen into a crisis by paying the salaries and allowances of the workers while continuing the production and on the other hand, by paying the installments of the bank.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian countries will experience the lowest economic growth in 70 years this year. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also warned that more than 60 million people in these countries are at risk of becoming unemployed. Neighboring India has also seen an increase in unemployment due to the coronavirus. Many people in Bangladesh have already lost their jobs. Some of them are leaving Dhaka and going to their village homes as they cannot drive themselves.

Like other countries in the world, Bangladesh, after being closed for two consecutive months, has opened trade and industry factories to sustain the economy, but production and business activities are being severely disrupted. In this situation, at least two crore people in Bangladesh will fall below the poverty line, the Executive Chairman of the Public and Participation Center (PPRC) said. Hossain Zillur Rahman. On the other hand, a large number of people will become unemployed. Which will create new dimensions in the case of unemployment. Analysts say catastrophes await Asian countries, as in other parts of the world. As a result, our poverty rate has already risen from 20 percent to 25 percent. And according to the report of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Bangladesh has been included in the list of countries at high risk of unemployment in recent times. Meanwhile, there have been various crises in the implementation of the incentive package announced by the government to sustain industry and trade. They are in the dark about whether the real victims will get this incentive. Meanwhile, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 5 crore 16 lakh working people in the country are employed in the informal sector. Which is 85 percent of the total employment in the country.

Most of the people in this informal sector are now unemployed. Again, the wages of those who are working have also been reduced. Besides, a large number of workers in the institutional sector are also losing their jobs. Similarly the salary is being cut. As a result, on the one hand, the industrial owners are fighting for their survival. On the other hand, a large number of people have lost their jobs and are facing abject poverty. In order to overcome such a situation, the experts said that the investment of the public sector should be further increased and various assistance should be provided to the private sector entrepreneurs to make up for the loss. Although the government has announced several incentive packages worth Tk 1.3 lakh crore, they are not considered sufficient. The ILO, meanwhile, has warned that at least 1.6 billion people worldwide will lose their jobs as a result of the corona. Which is about half of the total working people in the world. Already, like the rest of the world, Bangladesh is beginning to feel the effects. As a result, the income of about 70 percent of the people of Bangladesh has already decreased. As a result of the economic crisis caused by the Corona, the livelihoods of about 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy are at risk. This situation has arisen due to the lockdown measures taken in the country to prevent the outbreak of corona. In the first month of the crisis, the income of workers in the informal sector worldwide fell by 60 percent, compared to 81 percent in African countries. 21.6 percent in the United States, Asia and the Pacific, and 70 percent in Europe and Central Asia. The ILO believes that there will be no way for these workers and their families to survive without an alternative source of income. The ILO called on businesses to take urgent, specific and flexible measures to assist workers in this situation. According to the ILO report, global unemployment has been relatively stable over the past nine years. But as global economic growth slows, there will not be enough jobs for those new to the labor market. Again, a large number of people are becoming unemployed. As a result of the ongoing corona, 1.6 billion people worldwide will become unemployed. At the same time, the United Nations has warned the world that there will be an extreme food crisis.