Covid-19 has geared up the unemployment problem in the entire world and India is no exception to that. The pandemic has laid a greater impact on the labour market of our country. The unseen virus has devastated the employment opportunities of our country. It has pushed the entire world into a state of uncertainty.
That is why the ILO has engaged in a collective attempt to handle this global issue comprehensively. Actually, the ILO has understood that the pandemic has brought damage and risk not only to everyone’s health, but also in the economic and labour market of the entire planet.
Since the Great Depression, the world has not experienced such a crises and deadly terror. The lockdown has restricted economic activities. As a result, India is still bearing the burnt of unemployment issues. In India, the lockdown delivered a severe blow to the economy with a lower GDP growth of 1.9.
Many labourers and self-employed workers lost their work and income miserably — about 77% of employment in India is non-regular or casual.
According to a report, about 473 million workers are at risk of being negatively affected by the lockdown. Even Covid-19 has increased the vulnerability of women’s employment. According to a survey, 181 million people, most of which have been women, have faced domestic violence during the lockdown.
Covid-19 has also swelled the number of urban casual workers. It has led to a temporary shutdown of industrial plants and units, but many have lost their jobs and vacated their shelters because of this loss. They, unfortunately, had to return to their villages with uncertainty and hopelessness. Over five million migrants desperately returned to their homes, with little hope of getting their jobs back.