Algeria’s Ministry of the Interior has revealed that the country has lost 500,000 jobs as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. The total does not include the losses in informal employment opportunities.

Speaking on the sidelines of the national conference on prevention strategy and management of major risks, Abdelhamid Afra, the National Delegate for Major Risks at the ministry, explained that the average annual budget allocated by the state for the prevention and management of major risks, such as mass unemployment, amounts to 34 billion Algerian dinars.

The funds are spent on compensating victims and repairing losses. He indicated that this budget will be much less if the state pays 50 per cent of the cost of insurance directed to six million families.