More than 85,000 workers lost their jobs in Syria's turbulent year of 2011, private newspaper al- Watan daily reported on Monday, citing statistics from the General Organization for Social Insurance.

Data show that a total of 85,552 workers have been laid off allover Syria since March, 2011 when the anti-government movement started. However, the research did not cover the central provinces of Homs, Hama and northern Idlib province due to the security situation there, al-Watan said.

While the violence in Syria is gathering momentum, the European Union and Arab League imposed several rounds of economic sanctions that had hit hard almost all vital sectors in Syria's society.