The issue was made evident as the enhanced community quarantine has rendered some individuals jobless. In an article by Business World, the Philippine economy may decline by as much as 0.6% this year in a report entitled ‘Addressing the Social and Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic’ by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The article also added that job losses are estimated to be between 116,000 to 1.8 million as the economy may lose between Php 428.7 billion to Php 1.36 trillion in gross value added or equivalent to 2.1% to 6.6% of its nominal gross domestic product (GDP) this year. Read more: Pandemic expected to weaken job market
Most affected in the job sector are wage workers and commission-based workers.
“The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) estimates that the above restriction in passenger traffic from China and its administrative regions (i.e., Hong Kong and Macau) and parts of South Korea, a 10.0 percent drop in foreign tourists from other countries9 until June, and a 100 percent decline in foreign tourists and airline revenues for one month due to the ECQ in Luzon, will result in a loss of gross value added of PHP77.5 to PHP156.9 billion, equivalent to 0.4 to 0.8 percent10 of GDP in 2020. Likewise, the slowdown in economic activities may reduce employment by about 33,800 to 56,600.” – excerpt from the ‘Addressing the Social and Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic‘ of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Furthermore, economists predict that the unemployment figure will rise.
