The aim of the present study was to examine COVID-19 pandemic, socio economic lockdown and crime. An insight on the experiences and responses of workers in Enugu state southeast Nigeria. It is a qualitative study and the interviews were interpreted using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The interview questions includes (i) what are your experiences during COVID 19 pandemic lock down? (ii) What was the rate of crime in your area and state generally during the lockdown? (iii)How did the economic lockdown affect your job/work? Semi-structured interview was used to collect data from the participants. The participants were workers in different organizations (government and private). Thirty five workers participated in the study. The lowest qualification of the workers was secondary school certificate examination. The participants were both married and singles, their ages were between 21-40.The results showed that COVID 19 pandemic seriously affected workers (government and private) very badly, many breadwinners lost their jobs and source of livelihood during lockdown, inclusively many private organizations were closed down and the workers were faced with unemployment and untold hardship. The findings shows that COVID 19 posed a serious threat on the lives and wellbeing of workers at large.

Keywords: COVID-19, Enugu state, workers, unemployment, hardship