COVID-19 And Its Effect on the World Economy
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now considered a pandemic due to its severe spread. It’s a respiratory disease currently named severe acute syndrome corona virus-2. In Wuhan City, Hubei province, China, it was identified when respiratory cases were reported at a high rate. WHO reported the first case on the 31st of December, 2019.
This international ailment is spreading trepidation among people, demolishing their lives, and even transforming normal humans into dead bodies. The confirmed worldwide cases till now are 16.3 M; recovered cases are 9.41 M while death cases are 649 K. The governments of all countries are wide-awake and striving to save the lives of their individuals. However, it’s not so easy. Corona has been observed as a contagious disease.
Some evidence suggests that it spreads through direct, indirect (through infected object or surface), or close contact with affected people through the mouth or nose secretion. As suggested by WHO, the primary prevention to overcome this disease is to keep a social distance. Initially, some people started complete care and prevention to save them, but most people weren’t taking that seriously. That’s why it’s spreading rapidly, and the number of reported and death cases is increasing day by day. The government of different countries implemented strict lockdown in their country, so the people didn’t contact in that way, and the virus might stop spreading.
It’s really something more than just a health crisis. It’s a social and economic crisis. The complete lockdown has severely affected the world’s economic condition because if people don’t work, how can they earn? One person’s business is the job’s source for many other people. The world’s financial system is intermixing; that’s why it affects the other one when one business shuts down. The global economy is constantly contracting at a high pace.
When the crisis strike, low-class employees are harder struck by financial problems. Around the world, they generally earn less, and they are capable of saving less. So, their survival has become hard. The upper-class businessmen have endured devastating blows due to mangled losses in their business because of the pause in the interrelationships of people. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that the world economy will shrink by 3 % this year. In May 2020, Bureau Labour Statistics (BLS) confirmed that 20.5 million nonfarm jobs and the unemployment rate increased to 14.7 % in April.
We observe that the economy to be shrunk to a much more dangerous extent. The yearly unemployment rate of different countries has also affected:
USA:
In April, the rate of nonfarm payroll unemployment in the US was 4.8 M. The US Congressional Budget Office has forecasted that up to three quarters of 2020, 15% of people could be unemployed- greater than 4 % up to now.
Canada:
Canada’s unemployment rate has reached a record of 13.7%. Statistic Canada reports a record of a high employment rate.
Japan:
In Japan, the employment rate has been decreasing at a slow pace compared to other G7 countries like the US. The rate increased to 2.95% in May 2020.
UK:
The United Kingdom’s current unemployment rate is 3.9%. It’s projected to reach 19.2 % in Spain by the end of 2020. Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) forecasted that this would rise to 9% in the lockdown period.
Germany:
The German unemployment rate is increasing steadily, unlike other counties like the US. It rose to 3.90 % in May from 3.80 % in April 2020.
Italy:
The Italy unemployment rate increased up to 7.8 % in May. It expects that 500,000 jobs will lose in 2020. However, there’s a chance of partial recovery in 2021 with a negative balance of 250,000 jobs. Its large unofficial workforce was also hit hard.
Pakistan:
Developing countries like Pakistan are facing two wars; virus and hunger. Unemployment figures in Pakistan can reach up to 28%.
India:
According to the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), the certain Indian unemployment rate is 27.1%. The new data shows the rate is four times that of the USA.
Final words:
Intense and bold measures are needed to fight this fatal disease and win the war against the falling economy of the world. If proper measures aren’t considered to sustain the economy, the world’s circumstances will be devastated.
