(fin24) The world’s biggest lockdown forced 122 million people out of jobs in India last month, according to estimates from a leading private sector think tank.
Employment plunged in April after the government imposed a 40-day lockdown in a nation of 1.3 billion people, forcing businesses to shut and pushing up the jobless rate to 27.1% in the week ended May 3, surveys by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy showed.
Daily wage workers and those employed by small businesses took a massive blow, according to CMIE. These include hawkers, roadside vendors, workers employed in the construction industry and many who eke out a living by pushing handcarts to rickshaws.