COVID-19 Impacts on Employment and Livelihood of Marginal People in Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Way Forward

Abstract

The Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) has created tremendous negative impacts on the livelihood of the marginal population in Bangladesh. Many people working in the informal sector have lost their job and income due to the ongoing pandemic. Unemployment and poverty among the people in both urban and rural areas throughout the country have increased. The success in economic growth in the last few decades could not save poor people to become extreme poor because economic prosperity was not inclusive in Bangladesh. This study tries to identify some of the impacts that COVID-19 has imposed on the lives of marginal population. Then it indicates some of the serious limitations of the existing economic policies. This article suggests that only growth-oriented policy measures are not sufficient to reconstruct the economy in the post-COVID era. Rather Bangladesh needs to adopt employment-oriented economic policies that are capable to create more jobs and reduce poverty and inequality.