Accommodation, nourishment services worst hit by COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova

Chisinau, 1 December /MOLDPRES/ - The pandemic crisis has hit five sectors of the economy worst of all, as well as the health and the education systems, according to data of a survey made by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  

According to a study on assessing the social and economic impact of the pandemic crisis, elaborated under the leadership of UNDP Moldova, in partnership with UNFPA and in cooperation with the State Chancellery, the worst hit sector of the economy remains the one of the accommodation and nourishment services, as most locations had to cease working in last spring. The employees from this sector, especially the ones who work in urban zones, were among the worst hit ones. The average number of employees dropped by 60 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.  

The non-food commerce, both the wholesale and the retail ones, was also badly hit, especially on the period when isolation measures were taken, because of the decrease in the demand, problems with supply, decrease in production and consumption of non-food goods. And the transport was seriously affected because of low mobility of passengers and low demand in goods. In comparison with July 2019, the passenger transport diminished by almost 49 per cent. The average number of employees in this sector also decreased by 15.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.     

The sales from the light industry were hit by the dynamic of foreign markets in the first two months of 2020, followed by a massive decrease on the isolation period (March-April), with a maximal negative value in last April, with a cut of almost 50 per cent, because of the isolation measures in the EU member states.   

The survey’s data shows that the health system is worst hit as regards the capacity and the medical staff, because of the current evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical staff is overwhelmed and exposed to exhausting in the daily activities. Although the schools and universities implemented the distance learning, the COVID-19 pandemic changes the education for an entire generation and the closing of schools hit the disadvantaged categories more seriously.  

The assessment was made in the period May-October 2020 and was carried out by the use of public studies made, available data of the National Statistics Bureau, an opinion poll of Magenta Consulting – a part of the UNDSP analysis, conducted in August-September 2020 among 390 citizens and 450 companies, as well as alternative sources of data, including mega-data and micro-stories.