Between April and June 2020, a total of 84 companies made 4180 people redundant due to the impacts of covid-19. The data, presented this Thursday by the Minister of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security, Teresa Rodrigues Dias, also indicate that another 35 companies want to move forward with the suspension of the labour contract of 2886 workers, making a total of 7066 unemployed people.
Teresa Rodrigues Dias, cited by Angop, also revealed that the number may eventually rise to 12 thousand unemployed.
Teresa Rodrigues Dias made it known that the Government is already trying to alleviate this problem. According to the Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola, the Executive had already approved the Action Plan and Promotion of Employability (PAPE), which foresees the creation of 500 thousand new jobs.
"At the time the programme was outlined, it was not imagined that the covid-19 pandemic would arise, so the reasons for the programme's operationalization and continuity deserved a previous study that ended recently and aims to adjust the programme," explained the minister.
To mitigate the effects of this situation and in order to "increase the expectation of employability", the head of the Public Administration, Labour and Social Security also said that the tutelage has already begun to contact their social partners.
Sérgio Santos, Minister of Planning and Economy, said that the Government has been following the evolution of the labour market in the country.
He also indicated that, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), unemployment is growing more in urban areas and decreasing in rural areas, explaining that this is due to the fact that when there is "a situation like this of economic crisis, the social sectors are the first to be affected".
According to the government, between the first and fourth quarter of 2019, in rural areas, the unemployment rate was 17 per cent and in the first quarter of 2020 it rose to 12 per cent. In the same period, in urban areas the figures rose from 42 per cent to 45 per cent, respectively.
"Small and medium-sized business support institutes and those linked to agricultural and industrial development are working with various companies in various sectors," he said, revealing that 1962 companies applied for the financial support programme.
