Bloomberg reports that in his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned of widening job losses as the effects of the national shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus batters the SA economy.
He noted that companies in the aviation, construction, entertainment and hospitality sectors have indicated plans to cut jobs because of heavy losses experienced in the past three months. Small companies were being hard hit and some businesses were closing down permanently, Ramaphosa stated. SA’s unemployment rate for the first quarter, due Tuesday, is forecast to rise to 29.7%, according to a survey of economists. “For a country which was already facing an unemployment crisis and weak economic growth, difficult decisions and difficult days lie ahead,” Ramaphosa warned. The economy could contract by 7% this year, according to SA Reserve Bank estimates. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will give more details on the virus’s economic impact when he presents a revised national budget in parliament on Wednesday.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Felix Njini and Prinesha Naidoo at Moneyweb
- Read too, Ramaphosa warns of tough times, difficult decisions, unavoidable job losses, at Business Report
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