$206.7m has been paid out by the Fiji National Provident Fund to its members who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of this, the government has directly paid out $94.5m including $30.6m from the COVID-19 response budget and $63.9m for the financial year 2020/2021.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum adds the labour market conditions is still fragile with over 100,000 jobs affected both in the formal and informal sector.

Sayed-Khaiyum says while some Fijians have returned to work, many are still unemployed or on reduced hours and are receiving unemployment assistance.