The number of unemployed in Ukraine in the first two weeks of quarantine increased by 500,000-700,000 people, over the next two weeks, in April, by another 500,000-600,000 people, to 2.5-2.8 million people, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) has said.
“According to the estimates of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the unemployment rate today is 13.7-15.4%. This is the highest rate in the last 15 years,” the press service said citing president of the chamber Hennadiy Chizhikov.
This figure does not take into account the number of labor migrants who returned to Ukraine after the start of pandemic, he added.
About 4 million people were employed in the “stopped” industries, he said.
“A survey of companies conducted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry shows that 26% of them plan to reduce staff, another 30% have not made a final decision,” the expert said.
According to the agency, the total amount of support for businesses through tax exemption in March and April stood at UAH 9.3 billion, of which UAH 900 million was support for small businesses, which suffered the largest losses during quarantine.
“The estimated losses of only two sectors – beauty salons and passenger transportation – amount to about UAH 1.5 billion over a month and a half of quarantine. Losses of the entire businesses “in quarantine” are many times more,” he added.
As reported, according to the State Employment Service, on April 13 the number of registered unemployed amounted to 387,500 people, over the week this figure increased by 36,200 people.
