Covid-19: Despite Easing Lockdown, Working Conditions Of Nigerians Still Precarious-NBS
Despite the easing of Covid-19 lockdown, working conditions of most organisations have remained precarious as they battle the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic.
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According to the National Bureau of Statistics report titled, ‘COVID-19 impact monitoring report’ for November/December 2020, business activities in the non-farm enterprise sector suggests people’s working situations remain precarious.
Recall, as at July, 2020, Nigeria had completed the three phases of its gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown, with the reopening of airports for local flights.
The report showed that about 17 percent of households who had non-farm businesses during 2020 were not operating their business in December 2020.
It stated, “Of these, 61 per cent (11 per cent of all households with non-farm businesses) had also been closed for at least one month between June and November 2020.
“Moreover, just 23 per cent of households with non-farm businesses in 2020 operated them continuously since the peak of restrictions in April/May.”
It showed that the share of respondents who were working remained around pre-crisis levels in December 2020.
However, it stated that the agricultural sector has proved to be a resilient source of income for most Nigerians, as households involved in farming activities recorded increased income from crop sales in 2020/21 as food prices soar.
There was also an 80 percent increase in the share of households participating in crop-related farm work between the 2019 and 2020 agricultural seasons.
