81% received full wages in first wave of Covid-19 pandemic: Survey

70% of firms didn't cut jobs; in fact, health sector increased employment

An overwhelming 81 per cent of workers in nine organised non-farm sectors received full wages even as only about 27 per cent of establishments cut jobs during the Covid-induced nationwide lockdown during March 25 to June 30, 2020, showed the first revamped quarterly employment survey (QES).
 
Besides, 69.5 per cent of establishments had hired as many hands as on July 1, 2020, as they had on March 25, when the lockdown was first announced, showed the survey released on Monday. And, around four per cent establishments hired more during this period.
 
The survey revealed that wages were reduced