PHILIPPINE companies, including agriculture businesses, lost P875.5 billion in revenues due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), according to the survey conducted by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Finance (DOF).
Documents obtained by the BusinessMirror also revealed that micro, small and medium enterprises and large firms lost a total of P767 billion in revenues, while agriculture business lost P108.5 million in revenues.
The top 10 industries most affected by the ECQ lost 74.3 percent of their sales as 135,438 firms were closed during the lockdown. Only 21,691 firms were open during this time.
“Survey results corroborate the economic decline,” the document stated. The latest estimates from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated that the country’s GDP growth contracted 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
The data also showed that in terms of job losses, the government estimates 2.24 million Filipinos lost their jobs during the ECQ.
The survey results show that 74.4 percent of firms did not lay off their workers while 25.4 percent had to downsize their companies during the ECQ.
However, it was estimated that 86 percent of workers in the agriculture sector were able to keep working in the farm.
The estimated job losses in the top 10 hardest hit sectors reached 1.13 million, or a 2.6-percent decline in the country’s total employment.
Most affected industries
In terms of income, the industry that was most affected by the ECQ were in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, where sales declined by 82.3 percent.
It is estimated that 18,661 firms in the sector were closed due to the ECQ and only 1,874 firms were open. It is expected that the firms in this sector will be closed for nine months this year.
This was followed by tourism, which saw revenues plunge 81.9 percent with 29,147 firms closed during the ECQ and only 2,686 firms were open during the lockdown. It is also expected that firms in this sector will remain closed for nine months this year.
In terms of job losses in the top 10 hardest hit sectors, the construction and education sectors were the most affected with 689,974 and 130,514 jobs lost, respectively.
This was followed by the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (74,758 jobs lost during ECQ), tourism (51,446), and finance and insurance activities (41,027).
Meanwhile, among consumers, the Neda and DOF survey showed 44 percent of respondents said their income was not enough to meet their basic needs.
At least 44 percent of non-government worker respondents said they lost their jobs or sources of incomes.
The top three needs of consumers, based on the survey, are access to food supply and essentials; more efficient health system; and transportation.
The firms, meanwhile, listed as their top three needs: deferred payment to government, banks and utilities; tax discounts or tax credits; and low-interest loans from government and banks.
The primary concerns of agribusinesses were cash assistance; production support—seeds, planting materials, fertilizer, etc.; and machinery and equipment—tractors, cultivators and pumps, etc.
The consumer survey of Neda and DOF had 389,859 respondents and was administered between April 5 and 8; while the MSME and large business survey had 44,097 respondents and administered between April 4 and 8.
The agriculture survey had 6,863 respondents and was administered between April 3 and 8.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes, Nonoy Lacza
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