Labor Day in Peru comes amid COVID-hit economy

As Peru marked Labor Day on Saturday, a year of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to control it has had a damaging impact on the country's workforce.

Economist Jorge Gonzalez Izquierdo said 950,000 formal jobs had been lost in Lima alone in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous year.

Peru's GDP also fell 11% in 2020, according to officials figures.

Peru lacks public unemployment insurance and with the massive loss of jobs, many, many people have had to adapt.

Some, including musician Luis Huayhuapuma, have joined the ranks of informal street merchants and performers whose numbers now represent 76% of the country's total workforce.

The economic downturn is now increasingly visible in Peru, where housing is insufficient and unaffordable for thousands who are now squatting of living in overcrowded conditions.

As of Saturday, Peru has recorded more than 1.7 coronavirus cases and 61,477 deaths linked to COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.