Rs61bn approved, 600,000 jobs saved under SBP rozgar scheme

• As per the central bank, the approved amount represents 600,000 jobs, while the remaining amount is in process.

About Rs61 billion has been approved for businesses that have applied to commercial banks to benefit from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Refinance Scheme to Support Employment and Prevent Layoff of Workers (Rozgar Scheme).

As per the central bank, the approved amount will help in protecting some 600,000 jobs, while the remaining amount is in process. The SBP informed that as of 15 May, some 1,700 businesses have applied to commercial banks to benefit from SBP’s rozgar refinance scheme for a total loan amount of Rs120bn and covering more than 1.1 million employees.

Under this scheme, businesses that benefit from this scheme commit to not lay off workers for 3 months. The State Bank will finance up to 100 percent of wages and salaries of businesses with average 3-month wage bill of up to Rs500 million and above this SBP will finance of up to 75 percent with maximum financing of Rs1 billion for businesses with 3-month wage bill.

This will enable the full array of businesses to benefit from SBP's Rozgar Scheme and hence prevent large scale layoffs.