KATHMANDU: Businesses laid off one-fourth of their employees during the lockdown period that lasted for four months.
The four-month-long lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic forced 61 percent of businesses to close down completely, causing a dire effect on the economy by rendering tens of thousands of people jobless and disrupting the production and supply chain, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
The survey conducted by the central bank—Nepal Rastra Bank—shows that only 35 percent of businesses operated partially while 4 percent operated fully during the lockdown period. The small and medium scale enterprises and early-stage startups were badly hit, according to the survey titled: The Effect of Covid-19 in Nepal’s Economy, which was prepared particularly for the monetary policy for this fiscal year.