Coronavirus has hit China’s migrant workers harder than Sars and the financial crisis, but worst yet to come
- China’s army of 290 million migrant workers has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, but most are unable to access unemployment support
- Covid-19 is having a deeper impact on employment in China than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak and the global financial crisis
In early January, when a mysterious “new pneumonia” started to ripple across parts of China, domestic worker Zou Lan caught a cold.
Though authorities had yet to announce the unprecedented threat the coronavirus posed, her employer asked her to take some rest. She has been unable to return to work since.
Penniless and with three kids to support, the single mother – who had worked in Nanjing for more than 10 years – has been trying to find a job for four months. After multiple failed job applications, she is getting increasingly desperate.
“My former employer treated me well. She asked me to wait for her call in January, telling me that they would like me to go back when the outbreak is brought under control. I’ve been waiting for months and am getting pessimistic about it,” the 41-year-old said.
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