Thailand hit hard by two-year absence of tourists The Covid-19 pandemic — or, as some say, the government restrictions imposed to counter it — has exacerbated poverty in Southeast Asia and hit the labor market, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). . Posted on March 16th. The report Southeast Asia – Rising from the Pandemic found that last year’s pandemic alone pushed 4.7 million people in the region into extreme poverty – defined as living on less than $1.90 per…
The Covid-19 pandemic — or, as some say, the government restrictions imposed to counter it — has exacerbated poverty in Southeast Asia and hit the labor market, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). . Published March 16.
that report Southeast Asia – emerging from the pandemic It was found that last year’s pandemic alone pushed 4.7 million people in the region into extreme poverty—that is, living on less than $1.90 a day—and eliminated 9.3 million jobs.
Inequalities have also widened as mobility restrictions have particularly hit retail and the informal sector, which often employ women, young people and unskilled workers.
“Worsening Inequality”
“The impact of the pandemic on poverty and unemployment is likely to persist, as the skills of non-working people are lost and opportunities for the poor deteriorate further,” ADB said.
“When this happens, the worsening of inequality may be passed down from generation to generation,” it added.
Many countries in Southeast Asia have lost hard-earned economic and development gains as they continue to battle the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus. Although the Asian Development Bank expects the overall regional economic growth rate to reach 5.1% in 2022 as rising vaccination rates – nearly 60% of the population in Southeast Asia have been vaccinated – prompt the reopening of the economy, it The new variant could slow economic growth by as much as 0.8%, it warned.
The countries in the region that have reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic are Vietnam (6.55 million), Indonesia (5.91 million) and Malaysia (3.87 million).
Cautiously optimistic outlook, including tourism
However, the ADB was optimistic that Southeast Asia’s economy will recover steadily, as the region is “generally in good economic health.”
One particularly important sector, tourism, should gradually pick up as borders begin to open, providing more opportunities for economic growth and jobs, although the Ukraine crisis is a setback for countries such as Vietnam and parts of Thailand that depend on Russian tourists.
So there is still a long way to go. Although overall international tourist arrivals increased by 58% from July to September 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, they were still 64% below 2019 levels, the ADB reported.
“For now, tourism-related goods and services, including transportation, accommodation, entertainment, and other personal services, are likely to remain weak, while travel remains restricted and social distancing is still enforced,” the ADB said.
Digital Tools for Unemployed Workers and Healthcare Investments
To accelerate the region’s economic recovery, ADB urges governments to take supportive measures, such as equipping small businesses with digital tools and providing skills training for unemployed workers to ensure they are not left behind in the “new normal” work, including from home work and computer-based communication.
The Manila-based development bank also recommends that developing country governments in the region increase health care spending from 3 percent to 5 percent of overall average GDP in 2021, which will not only improve overall health care capacity and reduce inequality, ADB estimates , the sector could also improve resilience to future pandemics and ultimately add 1.5 percentage points to economic growth in Southeast Asia.
