Economic downturn, COVID-19 renders 75% Zim urban workers jobless- WFP

THE World Food Programme (WFP) has disclosed that three quarters of Zimbabwe’s urban workers have lost their jobs due to the deteriorating economic situation and the COVID-19-induced restrictions which have forced most companies to scale down operations.

In a country update released on September 14, WFP said: “Prior to the onset of COVID-19, Zimbabwe was already suffering from a dire economic crisis characterised by high rates of inflation and rising food costs.

“As of 30 March 2020, when the government of Zimbabwe declared a national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, millions of people, particularly in urban domains, lost their primary source of income from informal livelihoods.

“Almost three quarters of the country’s urban workforce, primarily made up of female traders, remains jobless.”

To make matters worse, government continues to offer insignificant safety nets to vulnerable communities, labour activists have noted.

“It (urban joblessness) can even be more than that if we consider that even those with work are severely under-employed.

The government neglected to take care of the informal economy which contributes 60,6% of the economic activities. In addition 76% of jobs in this country are informal,” said Zimbabwe Confederation of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa.

“Thus, the closure of the economy without care about the many workers in the informal economy destroyed livelihoods.

“Even many other formal economy businesses like transport, hospitality, and others also closed and terminated contracts of employment for many workers.”

He added that as a result of the joblessness, many families were starving in their homes.

-Newsday