Over 20m lost livelihood due to lockdowns in Pakistan: survey

ISLAMABAD: More than 20 million people lost livelihood due to lockdowns imposed to halt spread of Covid-19, a survey conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed.

According to the survey conducted to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on the well-being of people, 6.7 million people witnessed reduction in their earning due to the lockdowns and economic downturn brought on by the pandemic.

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Pakistan’s workforce was recorded at 55.7 million before the onset of Covid-19 but this declined to 35 million due to the lockdowns. However, after the first wave of the pandemic was over, the number of workforce rebounded to a bit lower than pre-Covid period (52.5 million).

It disclosed that 10 per cent households reported food insecurity during the first wave of the pandemic.

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