Coronavirus: Govt’s interventions restore 2,849 jobs - Minister

Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations says government's interventions in the easing of restrictions has restored 2,849 out of 11,657 job losses due to COVID-19, representing 24 percent.

Mr Awuah said the incidence of job losses was highest among micro-sized enterprises, representing 36 percent and lowest in large scale establishments, which represented 23 per cent.

In the economic sectors, the Minister said the highest incidence of job losses of 65 per cent was recorded in the other services like the recruitment agencies, media and laundry services, followed by construction of 49 percent, hotels and restaurants 45 percent and private sector education, 43 percent.

The shipping or the maritime sub-sector together with finance, agriculture, health, and social work suffered the least incidence of job losses of one per cent.

The Minister who announced this on Wednesday during the meet-the-press series in Accra said the figures were results from a Pilot Labour Market Survey commissioned by the Ministry to assess the impact of COVID-19 on job losses and pay cuts.

The survey covered 878 enterprises across the country and involved a total of 44,040 employees.

The survey covered micro (1-4 employees), small (5-29 employees), medium (30-99 employees), and large (100 above employees) enterprises.

The Minister said according to results of the survey, 17,685 out of 44,040, representing 40 percent workers suffered pay cuts, adding that, pay cuts were highest among medium scale establishments with 46 percent of workers affected with lowest among small scale enterprises of 38 percent.

He said over 50 per cent of workers in the construction and services sectors suffered pay cuts, and between 29-42 percent of workers in manufacturing, entertainment and events, sports, hotels and restaurants as well as mining also suffered pay cuts.

The survey showed that pay cuts were lowest in the finance sub sector of five per cent, followed by shipping or maritime 18.9 percent.

On establishments that adopted pay-cut strategies to keep workers on the payroll, the survey said 21 percent reduced wages by 10 percent or less involving 3,870 workers.

The Minister said 37 percent of establishments also reduced wages by 10-30 percent and 29 percent of them reduced wages by 30-50 per cent .

The pay-cuts, according to the survey affected 11,833 workers, stressing that 1,982 workers from about 13 percent of the establishments reduced workers' earnings by more than 50 percent.