The document summarizes the impact of COVID-19 and lockdowns on unemployment in India. It discusses how the strict nationwide lockdown in 2020 led to widespread job losses, especially impacting daily wage workers and migrant laborers. Tens of millions of workers lost their jobs or had their salaries reduced in both organized and unorganized sectors. The lockdowns also forced many migrant workers to return to their home villages on foot due to lack of transportation. While the government took some actions to help workers, unemployment rose to over 27% during the peak of the first wave lockdowns. Job losses have continued and a full recovery in labor markets remains uncertain.

1. PRESTIGE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND
RESEARCH
Finance and Economics Project
Ballooning Unemployment in India During Covid19
SUBMITTED TO:
Ankit Walia Sir
SUBMITTED BY;
Palak jain
Fatema Lightwala
Aayush Patodi

2. UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA: IS IT THE CURSE
OF THE COVID-19?
• The strict nationwide lockdown to contain the virus spread had led to widespread
devastation in 2020.
• The lockdown had not only impacted gig workers, but many white-collar jobs.
• The most devastating impact of the virus and the lockdown had been on the
economically backward classes, with limited access to proper healthcare and other
resources. .

3. Situations and happenings prior along with Covid19 made the conditions
worse.
• Demonetisation
• Goods and Service Tax

5. COVID-19 IMPACT ON DAILY WAGES
WORKERS.
Due to the shutdown of factories and workplaces, local laborers, and migrant workers had to deal with the loss of
income, food shortages, and uncertainty about their future. Thousands of migrant daily workers began walking
back to their native places, with no means of transport due to the lockdown. In response to this, the Central and
State Governments took various measures to help them and also arranged transport facilities for the workers.
Many migrant workers also died due to starvation, suicides, police brutality, exhaustion, road and rail accidents,
and denial of timely medical care. There are about 139 million daily laborers in the country approximately,
according to the World Economic Forum. The International Labour Organization has said that due to the pandemic
and the lockdown, about 400 million workers have been poverty-stricken. Daily laborers in the country are mostly
seen in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The cities of Mumbai
and Delhi have recorded the highest number of migrant daily workers. Migrant workers mainly comprise daily-
wage laborers working in the manufacturing industries and constructions.
.

6. Lockdown gifted the daily wage earners a standstill in life and with the only option of the
mass exodus- back to their villages. Who doesn’t remember the eyes of the children and their
migrant parents longing to go back to the haven, what they call ”Home”. Many migrants, in
pursuit to reach their homes, left their work which “they On one side, it became hard for the
city dwellers to connect with plumbers, shoe menders, electricians, carpenter amongst others.
On the other hand, urban employees were bombarded with the news of retrenchment and lay-
offs in big corporates every day had” in cities.

7. THE COVID-19 IMPACT ON ORGANISED SECTOR
JOBS AMIDST CRISIS
In India, from March-end, most government and private sector companies have
resorted to either sack employees asking them to go on indefinite leave without
pay or slashed salaries by as much as 85%.As per the data suggested by the
National Sample Survey (NSS) and Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS), it is
estimated that overall 136 million government and private sector jobs are at
immediate risk in post-corona India.
Besides the possibility of social unrest, a tsunami of job losses for employees
and the labor market can easily turn into a nightmare. The COVID-19 outbreak
comes at a difficult demographic, economic, and social time for India that would
not only aggravate a looming job crisis but will also increase the psychological
toll of joblessness amongst many

9. OVERVIEW OF GOVERNMENT PRIVATE & SECTOR JOBS
AMID OUTBREAK
According to the latest survey results by recruitmentalerts.com, “68% of the employers
surveyed have either started the layoff process or are planning to.” The survey covered
more than 1100 companies across 11 government and private industry sectors in 25 major
cities in India. The survey was conducted in May 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Among the surveyed organizations, 73% said they have plans to decrease the salary of
employees, 57% said this layoff is temporary, while 21% said they are doing permanent
layoffs for at least 2 years.”
India has already taken decisive actions to safeguard jobs including the implementation of
wage subsidies, allowing freelancers and sole traders to claim unemployment benefits
without shutting down their businesses, and supporting working-from-home policies
through tax incentives or transfers.

10. The last time the unemployment rate stumbled into double-digits
was between March and May 2020 when the complete lockdown
was imposed due to Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, in May 3, 2020,
the India’s unemployment rate reached an all time high of 27.11
percent Job loss Still Continue

11. IMPACT OF LOCKDOWN
• Till now, the impact of lockdowns has been somewhat limited compared to the first
wave.
• A resumption of normalcy in labour markets may not come very soon.

12. THANK YOU