[COVID-19\ African Jobs]
Reuters: Under what the AU researchers deemed their realistic scenario, Africa’s economy will shrink 0.8%, while the pessimistic scenario said there would be a 1.1% dip.
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About 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa as the continent’s economies are projected to shrink this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a African Union (AU) study.
So far, Africa accounts for just a fraction of total cases of the disease which has infected more than one million people worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.
But African economies are already facing an impending global economic downturn, plummeting oil and commodity prices and an imploding tourism sector.
Before the onset of the pandemic, continent-wide gross domestic product (GDP) growth had been projected by the African Development Bank to reach 3.4% this year.
However, in both scenarios modeled by the AU study – seen by Reuters and entitled “Impact of the coronavirus on the Africa economy” – GDP will now shrink.
Under what the AU researchers deemed their realistic scenario, Africa’s economy will shrink 0.8%, while the pessimistic scenario said there would be a 1.1% dip.
For rest of this story go here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-africa-economy/africa-could-lose-20-million-jobs-due-to-pandemic-au-study-idUSKBN21N0KX
