The Impact of Covid 19 Prevention Measures on Workers in the Informal Economy in Senegal

Abstract

The informal sector, or informal economy, is a real employment niche and a godsend for young people facing the harsh reality of unemployment and underemployment. However, in senegal, with the covid-19 crisis, this sector, known for its vulnerability, has been further weakened by certain government measures to combat the covid-19 pandemic (introduction of a curfew, closure of schools, markets and other places of business, ban on inter-city transport, etc.). This article, therefore, proposes to analyse the impact of these measures on informal sector enterprises and workers in senegal, particularly in dakar. The results we have obtained, thanks to an exclusively qualitative methodology, show that the application of such measures during the covid revealed an accentuated precariousness of informal work. In addition to having favoured the decline in turnover of informal enterprises, which are also confronted with the problem of indebtedness, they have contributed significantly to the unemployment of employees and other self-employed workers in this sector.