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Beirut – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has warned that the emergence of the corona virus could lead to the loss of more than 1.7 million jobs in the Arab world.
The committee expects “the gross domestic product of Arab countries to decline by at least $ 42 billion” this year amid falling oil prices and the fallout from the outbreak.
According to the committee’s report, the loss of this large number of jobs in the current year would lead to an increase in the unemployment rate of up to 1.2 percentage points. He stressed that “unlike the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis, employment opportunities are expected to be affected in all sectors.”
The committee asserted that “the service sector, which is the main source of employment opportunities in the Arab region, will be the sector most exposed to the effects of social distancing”.
The International Labor Organization warned on Wednesday that the economic and labor crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus would “have far-reaching effects on the labor market”.
And the United Nations has announced that the virus outbreak will lead to a significant increase in unemployment around the world, and leave 25 million people unemployed, in addition to its effect on reducing workers’ incomes.
Many countries, such as Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, rely heavily on the tourism sector to create jobs and support all other economic sectors, increasing the impact of the suspension of flights and tourism.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced yesterday that airlines in the Middle East are facing a liquidity crunch and hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk from the coronavirus outbreak, and it urged governments to provide assistance.
The largest organization in the industry estimated that Middle Eastern airlines lost about $ 7.2 billion in revenue through March 11 due to the cancellation of 16,000 flights since last January.
“The repercussions are not like what we have seen before,” said Federation vice president for Africa and the Middle East, Muhammad Ali Al-Bakri. We are faced with hardship, pain and bleeding. “
IATA has suggested governments increase support measures and provide direct financial support, loans, loan guarantees and tax exemptions to airlines.
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