Chennai: A lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 has seen a million citizens lose their jobs in Tamil Nadu. The nation has been in lockdown since 25 March to curb the novel coronavirus, causing mass layoffs and heavy job losses.
People who started small businesses on their own are unable to pay the loans. The market has crashed as the products created by them are not selling. They are suffering from debt, lack of business and lack of access to the job.
Others who were involved in various jobs such as ordinary typist, manager, cleaner and office assistant in private companies also lost their jobs. The reason is that the curfew is not fully operational for any private companies.
Those who used to work in Restaurants all over Tamilnadu, including Chennai, as suppliers, tea masters, cooks and cleaners, are now sitting at home without work. Although relaxations have been announced in some areas of the curfew, only a few restaurants are operating with few staff members. The same is happening with those who are working in private shopping malls, supermarkets, and other commercial outlets.
In Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai, more than 8,000 car, van and taxi drivers lost their jobs which is impacting their families directly.
In cities and villages, most people have lost their jobs as the cash flow to the people is stagnant with zero purchasing power. The result is that millions of construction workers have lost their jobs.
Millions of rural artists are starving as their economic activity came to a grinding halt.
The spike in the unemployment rate in the state has forced a college lecturer to sell sweets on the roadside, a drama artist to sell Dosa and a driver to sell balloons. The government has no answer when life will return to normal. However, economists have said that it is impossible to restore normalcy.
Psychologists said that pandemic will have a worse impact on mentally ill people, such as fear of coronavirus infection, isolation, unemployment, and food shortages, they say, "Unemployment and economic vulnerability were the main factors contributing to incidents of violence, theft, and robbery in a country."
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