Approximately 34.2 percent of at least 1,468 workers are yet to see their income recover since it fell amid the pandemic last year, according to a survey report of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (Sanem).
Of the workers, 27.8 percent saw their income recover between January and February, after it fell between March and December last year, the report said.
Income of the rest 38 percent of workers surveyed was not affected by the pandemic, it said.
According to the report, the lowest dip in a worker's income was 84 percent between December, 2019 and December, 2020, with the average lowest monthly earning reported at Tk 1,611. Workers' average income was Tk 11,041 in December, 2019 and Tk 8,508 in December last year, the report said.
Sanem disclosed findings of the survey "Impact of Covid-19 on Labour Market and Migration" during a webinar yesterday.
The 1,468 workers are about 51.6 percent of 2,845 non-migrant individuals Sanem surveyed via telephonic interview between January 2 and February 20 this year.
Of the total non-migrants, 41.5 percent or at least 1,180 are self-employed, while the rest 6.9 percent are unemployed.
Besides, the survey included 230 internal and 273 international migrants.
The report said of the self-employed non-migrants, 37.3 percent are yet to see their income recover, 43.2 percent now have their usual income, while income of the rest 19.5 percent was not affected by the pandemic.
Both the wage-employed and self-employed respondents were from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing (RMG and non-RMG), construction, hotel and restaurant, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, and health and social work sectors.
The report said 80 percent of those self-employed faced decrease in production, profit or sales amid the pandemic.
In Dhaka, 31.1 percent of workers and 41.8 percent of self-employed individuals are yet to see their usual income, it added.
Disclosing the findings, Sanem Research Director Prof Sayema Haque Bidisha said it is important to identify the affected sectors, which have not been able to recover yet.
The self-employed ones were experiencing slower recovery, and they should be in the government's policy focus, she said.
Addressing the webinar, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur said while the country was still dealing with those who have been affected by the pandemic, an additional 20 lakh new faces already entered the labour market.
"There is no scope for complacency," he said.
Pointing to an increased unemployment situation in the country, Mansur said while young people were entering workforce as they reached working age, there was no initiative for their employment.
On the other hand, financial and non-financial data point out that investment remains stagnant. So, the concern is if investment does not increase then how will youths, who are entering the workforce, be employed, he added.
Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, said there was "sluggish" private investment, which could continue due to uncertainty amid the pandemic.
In this context, increase in public investment is important, he said, suggesting that the government in the next budget should consider "employment-enhancing investments".
Sanem Executive Director Prof Selim Raihan said due to Covid-19, inequality increased and employment sector was disrupted in the country.
INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS
The Sanem survey said of the 230 internal migrants, 49 percent returned to villages amid the pandemic, mainly due to job loss, non-payment, decrease in salary and failure to afford expenses.
However, at the time of the survey, almost everyone returned back to the cities.
Of the 273 international migrants, 20 percent faced job loss amid the pandemic and five percent returned home, said the report.
Sanem recommended that strategies to integrate returnee migrants in domestic market should be prioritised.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit Chair Prof Tasneem Siddiqui said the government needs to formulate a long-term "emergency situation guideline" for migrant workers to address their problems in crisis periods.
ILO Bangladesh Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen said the global market, particularly labour market, as well as consumption and trade continue to be unpredictable amid the pandemic.
So, while taking measures it should be noted that "the recovery is still tentative", he said.
