22% of Nepal workforce lost jobs during pandemic, senior banker says

Nepalese businesses have laid off 22.5 per cent of their workers as measures to contain the novel coronavirus hit tourism and other activities, a senior central bank official said on Thursday, citing a study of the economic impact of the outbreak.
 

The study of nearly 700 enterprises in 52 of the Himalayan national districts, conducted by the central bank in June, showed most jobs lost in hotels and restaurants followed by agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the wholesale and retail sectors.

Nepal imposed a nationwide lockdown in March after reporting two confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.