Panaji, June 4 (IANS): The Covid-19 pandemic may have triggered job losses and an exodus of migrant workers out of Goa, but the crisis may help local youth to fill the vacuum left by the departing workforce, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

"A lot of jobs have been lost due to Covid-19. But we can reverse this. We can give (available) jobs to Goans now," Sawant said, while speaking at a Labour ministry function at the state secretariat on Thursday.

The Chief Minister also said, that more than 80,000 migrant workers primarily from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal have left Goa by Shramik Special trains ever since the service was started by the central government.

The Chief Minister also said, that nearly 5,000 persons from districts of neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka had applied for daily passes with the respective district collectors to travel into the state for employment purposes.

The Labour Ministry function was organised to inaugurate a new initiative by the state government's employment exchange, which will now also list job seekers willing to work in private sector firms too.

"If a private company needs a candidate, they need not advertise anymore. They can view and short-list candidates who are registered with labour department of Goa government," Sawant said, adding that the Goa Employment Exchange would now maintain two lists henceforth, one with candidates exclusively seeking government jobs and another flexible list, with job seekers keen on employment in the government or private sector.