In addition to the rising death toll and extremely heavy burden on health-care systems, the Arab region is suffering from losses of jobs at an alarming rate due to COVID-19, according to a policy brief issued today by ESCWA featuring the first economic assessment of the cost of the pandemic on the region.
Arab States’ gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to decline by at least $42 billion in 2020. The figure could be higher, with the compounding effect of low oil prices and the dramatic slowdown of economies due to the closure of public institutions and private sector enterprises starting mid-March. The longer the lockdown, the higher the cost on the economies of the region.
More than 1.7 million jobs could be lost in 2020, with the unemployment rate increasing by 1.2 percentage points. Unlike in the aftermath of the global 2008 financial crisis, employment is expected to be affected across all sectors. The services sector, the region’s main employment provider, is particularly hit due to ‘social distancing’. Estimates point to a reduction by half of service-sector activities.
