Daily Times

One of the many surveys being floated to judge just what about the present economic situation disturbs people the most has found unemployment and loss of earning power to be the biggest twin problems. The novel coronavirus and its ability to take lives is only the third biggest threat. And it’s not too hard to understand once you put your mind to it. There is so much uncertainty out there that any wrong step could mean your life, or at least your career and your income, and then your mind and your life. Indeed, at a time when jobs are on a sharp decline it is only natural for people to suffer from psychological issues that stem from job closure.

That is why it is a fair bet that the demand for psychologists and therapists would have increased in the last two months. That consumers are absolutely miffed and putting away all and any investment decisions considering the circumstances is also only very readily understandable. All this runs sharply counter to official claims of stabilising the economy and almost turning it around, of course, which is why this is that much big news. Anybody hoping that the worst is already behind us is in for an unpleasant surprise, especially if he gets it by way of going to work one fine morning and finding a pink slip ready for him. Economies are collapsing all over the world and Pakistan is not any more shielded than any other in any terms.

The government must now see just what sort of stimulus package it can float to lift the depressed economic mood in the market. It must immediately provide enough liquidity to the central bank to push through another concessional loan package so that businesses are kept from laying off workers. And only when job security is provided in the market, as we have well seen, will sentiment begin to turn. This is just no environment to keep people in, when they can lose their jobs and earnings at the drop of a hat and then nobody’s the wiser for it. They must simply go and look for fresh work in a collapsed market. Nobody has much of a chance in that regard, no matter how big a head start he has. In the end, however fast he’s running, he’ll only run into a hard brick wall. *