PESHAWAR: A recent survey n Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) shows that 31 per cent of people have lost their jobs due to the second wave of coronavirus and the percentage of those working on Rs10,000 per month has increased from four to 47 per cent.
However, 40 per cent of the workers have started getting jobs again and the daily wage has gone up to Rs565.
The Department of Planning and Development, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the British Aid Agency, conducted a business survey in which 3,200 citizens were interviewed. The gender breakdown of the survey showed it was 87 per cent men and 13 per cent women.
The officials said that for the survey, eight constituencies in 32 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were selected. According to the report, the construction sector in the province was hard hit, while the transport sector was the second most affected due to the Covid-19. The report said that during the first wave, 70 per cent of the people lost their jobs in April, last year.
During the second wave, 31 per cent of citizens lost their jobs in August. During the first wave, 67 per cent lost their jobs in agriculture sector, 83 per cent in construction, 27 per cent in food, 64 per cent in manufacturing, 87 per cenr in transportation, 31 per cent in transportation and 31 per cent in wholesale sector.
According to the survey, before the lockdown, 4 per cent of the citizens had a monthly income of Rs 10,000 or less, 23 per cent had an income of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 and 73 per cent had an income of more than Rs 20,000. The income of 47 per cent of the citizens was less than 10 thousand while the income of 33 per cent of the citizens was 10 to 20 thousand and the income of 21 per cent was more than 20,000 monthly.
Furthermore, despite the easing in lockdown, only 40 per cent daily wage workers managed to secure regular jobs while the daily income of the workers has been recorded at only Rs565. The survey shows that a total of 43 per cent citizens declared the coronavirus dangerous for wholesale market, 41 per cent for the manufacturing sector, 37 per cent declared it dangerous for construction, 36 per cent for agriculture, 35 per cent for transport and 33 per cent for food security.
The survey said that 68 per cent citizens demanded cash compensation, 22 per cent temporary employment, 6 per cent demanded reduction in electricity bills, 4 per cent demanded free food, 55 per cent business people provided interest-free loans and 23 per cent reduced electricity bills, while 22 per cent demanded a reduction in taxes.
