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Engineering News reports that using data from the National Income Dynamic Study’s Coronavirus rapid mobile surveys (NIDS-CRAM), the University of Cape Town (UCT) Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing has examined the impact on jobs and income across the economic spectrum.
The study found that perhaps the biggest impact has been felt by those in poorly paid jobs. By March this year, there were nearly 1.15-million fewer people earning from jobs paying under R3,500 a month. These figures suggested that the informal sector has been particularly badly hit by the pandemic, said UCT Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing head of projects Dr James Lappeman. "It is very clear that those South Africans who were in already poorly paid jobs, particularly those working in the informal sector, have been hardest hit,” he pointed out. The data also indicated that middle-class and high-earning South Africans were coming under relative financial strain. Not only are there fewer South Africans earning higher salaries than pre-lockdown, but the average salary for those earning over R40,000 a month has fallen. “The key point is that the situation is fluid and, therefore, constantly changing. The figures also suggest that, although the economic pain is being felt across the board, it is the most vulnerable South Africans whose welfare is of huge concern,” Lappeman stated.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
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