In one of the first concrete signs of the unemployment bloodbath due to the Covid-19 lockdown, data from the national payments system shows a decline of more than 13% in May in the number of people receiving salaries and wages in comparison with a year ago.

Data provided by Bankserv Africa measures the actual take-home pay, net of deductions including income tax and retirement savings contributions, and represents the actual amount transferred into employees’ bank accounts. The data does not measure transfers between employers and employees that use the same bank. ..

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