Some 2.3 mn jobs were lost during coronavirus lockdown in 4Q2019-2020

Some 2.3 mn jobs were lost during the coronavirus lockdown in 4Q2019-2020, according to a recently published the Finance Ministry report.

The retail industry sustained the largest number of cutbacks, shedding 624k jobs lost compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Manufacturing came in second with 569k lost jobs, followed by the food and beverage and hospitality industry (469k), transport and storage (309k), and construction (288k).

Yet, employment is picking up again after the lifting of restrictions: Recent Capmas figures showed that the unemployment rate fell to pre-pandemic levels of 7.3 percent in 1Q FY2020-2021 after the government eased lockdown restrictions. Joblessness hit a near two-year high of 9.6 percent during the height of the outbreak in 4Q FY2019-2020.