Nearly Half Of Liberia's Workforce Is Out Of Job Since Ebola Crisis Began

Liberia is the hardest hit nation in the Ebola outbreak

Nearly half of Liberia's working population at the beginning of the
Ebola crisis is no longer doing so, according to a new reportreleased
Wednesday.

The West African nation has been the hardest hit in the regional
outbreak, accounting for more than 7,000 cases and nearly 3,000
deaths, according to the World Health Organization. To measure the
economic impact of that devastation, the World Bank, Liberian
Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Gallup
Organization conducted phone surveys and found that not only is a
massive part of the country's work force out of job, but food
insecurity is worsening.

Wage workers and the self-employed have taken the biggest hit, the
report finds. Prior to the epidemic, more than 30% of working
household breadwinners were self-employed, but now that rate is just
above 10%. Many people lost jobs because their business or government
offices closed.

Agricultural workers were significantly burdened at the start of the
outbreak, too, since transportation routes were interrupted and people
avoided large gathering spaces like markets, but the report shows
Liberians are beginning to return to work as the harvest approaches.

Read the full report here:
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Poverty%20documents/Socio-Economic%20Impact%20of%20Ebola%20on%20Households%20in%20Liberia%20(final).pdf