Hanoi (VNA) – Millions of labourers in Southeast Asia could lose theirjobs as economies grind to a halt due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,according to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission forAsia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

In the policy paper on the Asia Pacific region issued onMarch 26, ESCAP noted that while exact data on the impact of the pandemic onemployment remained unavailable, the impact is likely to be substantial asservices and labour-intensive manufacturing comprise over 80 percent of theregion's informal sector and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and contributeto most of the jobs in the region.

The report stressed the need for countries with weak socialprotection systems to have ample policy space to save jobs and support minimumliving standards for households.

Meanwhile, in its report issued on April 3, the AsiaDevelopment Bank projected that growth in Southeast Asia will decelerate from4.4 percent in 2019 to 1 percent this year before rebounding to 4.7 percent in2021, partly because of the region's strong trade and investment ties withChina.

Based on the ADB's projections, Indonesia's growth isexpected to shrink from 5 percent last year to 2.5 percent this year. Thailandis expected to slow to minus 4.8 percent. Vietnam's annual average growth of 7percent will slow to 4.8 percent in 2020, while Singapore is expected to ekeout just 0.2 percent growth.

Already, several governments have rushed out programmes tosupport the masses of newly unemployed from sectors like tourism, hospitalityand garment production.

Thailand is giving a 5,000 baht (150 USD) monthly supportfor three months to some nine million informal or self-employed workers.Singapore's supplementary budget worth some 48 billion SGD (33.36 billion USD)pays unemployed workers 800 SGD a month, for three months, to help them lookfor a new job or undergo training./.