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Oliver Kazunga Senior Reporter
THE number of retrenched workers across all sectors of the country’s economy increased by 38,8 percent last year to nearly 4,000 on the back of viability challenges companies continue to face, according to the Reserve Bank. In its 2014 inflation report, the RBZ said 3,881 workers were retrenched last year compared to 2,376 workers in 2013.

According to the quarterly retrenchment statistics across all sectors in the economy obtained from the Retrenchment Board by the Central Bank, in 2013, between January and March, 494 workers were retrenched, while between April and June, 585 were laid off. Between July to September of the same year, 491 were retrenched while from October to December, 806 workers were retrenched.

The statistics showed that between January and March last year, a total of 1,326 workers were retrenched, while 760 were laid off between April and June.

Between July and September 2014, a total of 757 workers lost their jobs while 1,038 others became redundant between October and December.

A total of 13,647 workers were retrenched between 2011 and September 2014.

“The continued decline in economic activities that manifested in the closure of companies resulted in the reduction of purchasing power in the economy, effectively worsening the already low aggregate demand situation,’” said the central bank.

Presenting the 2015 national budget last year, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, said at least 55, 000 workers lost their jobs over the past three years as 4,610 companies closed shop countrywide.

He said urgent fresh capital injection was needed towards resuscitating ailing firms whose capacity utilisation dropped from 39,6 percent to 36,3 percent, according to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries survey.

The government has said part of the measures to revive industries bordered around clarification of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment regulations, removal of bottlenecks around the ease of doing business, reviewing pricing and labour laws impediments and attracting foreign direct investments.

The negative employment statistics are expected to change in a positive direction in the next few months, however, as the mega deals signed by the government and China and Russia in August last year are beginning to bear fruit.

A number of investments in energy infrastructure and mining are expected to start in earnest soon with the country having hosted a number of high level delegations from China and Russia for work to begin.