Sarajevo Canton Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jasna Agic said on Thursday that 1,339 people in the canton have been out of work since March 18th, Klix.ba news portal reports.
“According to the data of the Employment Service of Sarajevo Canton, since March 18, since the declaration of the state of natural and other disasters, the number of unemployed has decreased by 1,339,” Agic said.
Speaking to the public, Agic also said that the Canton Sarajevo Government increased the basis for using social benefits in this canton.
“At today’s session of the Government of Canton Sarajevo, a Decision was adopted and the basis for the calculation of material and other benefits increased from 660 to 700 BAM. I emphasize that this increase applies to the month of April and afterward, ”Agic announced, noting that the beneficiaries of social benefits do not have to worry and that their right to increase has been realized.
“The “Voice of Small Business” (Glas malih biznisa) Facebook group, which gathered 23,000 business owners and employees of BiH crafts and small businesses in just 3 days. In our database, more than 2050 businesses with more than 13,000 employees are registered in just 24 hours, and according to a survey involving 1722 companies, 75% of employees in this field will end up in the bureau for unemployed within the next 15 days, if there is no response urgently and equally to everyone,” is stated in the press release sent by this group of small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are 27,000 small businesses registered in BiH and 48,000 trades with close to 350,000 employees. Of these, 262,000 jobs are threatened, which would block BiH at all levels in a very short period.
A large number of craftsmen, micro and small businesses are affected by the measures taken by Crisis headquarter at all levels due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Most people are completely banned from work, as well as businesses that are permitted to continue to work (food stores, pharmacies, bakeries, etc.) suffer a drop in sales from -30% to -50% due to moving restriction to children and those over 65, as well as special work procedures and working measures (distance, special cleaning and protection measures, only one customer in the shop together with the sales person, etc.).
