New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): In what can be seen as a scary downside the nationwide lockdown, as much as 24.7 per cent of the total population are either being laid off or are without work, according to the latest IANS-CVoter Economy Battery survey.
It's the semi-urban areas that seem to have bore the brunt of job losses with 28.5 per cent of the people living there getting laid off. When asked to people in job within their concerned households, that number swelled to 36.2 per cent.
With more factories and industrial units located in the semi-urban zones, the effect of job losses is seen in full force there.
Meanwhile, 56.6 per cent of the people have been negatively impacted one way or the other. Again, it's the semi-urban areas that have taken the maximum hit of 58.3 per cent.
As per the survey, women have lost more jobs as compared to their male counterparts. In terms of total population, 23.3 per cent men and 26.3 per cent women employees have been laid off.
When the question was put to people in job within their concerned households, the numbers swelled to 30.9 per cent for men and 34.8 per cent for women, as per the survey.
Quite predictably, the middle-aged strata are the worst hit by job losses. Among people in job within their concerned households, 40.7 per cent between the age group of 45 and 60 years said that they have lost their jobs. The least affected are those above 60 years of age. Yet, 28.6 per cent of them said they have lost their jobs.
In terms of earning strata, those who earn the least are the worst hit by job losses. India's migrant crisis is a manifestation of these statistics. As much as 26.5 per cent of the lowest income group lost their jobs, while that number for middle income and high income groups are 23.1 per cent and 22.5 per cent, respectively.
When asked to people in job within their concerned households, that number swelled to 36.1 per cent, 30.4 per cent and 27.6 per cent for low, middle and high income groups, respectively.
Similarly, those with lower education levels have lost more jobs. As many as 27.6 per cent of people with lower education got sacked, while 14.2 per cent with higher education lost their jobs.
In terms of ethnic groups, 30.2 per cent of Muslims have lost their jobs. The number goes up to 42.7 per cent when the question is applicable to people in job within their concerned households.
Meanwhile, 18.0 per cent of the total population has suffered salary cuts or loss of income in some way or the other. Both men and women are almost equally hit when it comes to salary cuts.
But what can be a silver lining in these dark times, 32.8 per cent of the total population hasn't experienced any income loss so far. When the question is applicable to people in job within their concerned households, that number goes up to 43.4 per cent.