More than 6 million Peruvians have been left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Xinhua news agency, quoting Labour Minister Javier Palacios on Thursday.

Some 8 per cent of Peru's 32 million inhabitants are unemployed, with the unemployment rate as high as 15 per cent in the capital Lima, said Palacios.

The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics recently reported that a total of 6,720,000 Peruvians lost their jobs as the pandemic idled economic activity.

Peru's government has adopted strict measures to contain the outbreak of the disease but is gradually reactivating the economy.

-- BERNAMA