Today, the state will disburse the last minimum wage to over a million workers, and this will be the last round of state aid for the economy.
In the previous days, it was said on several occasions that the government has no additional support packages planned and the Ministry of Finance has said that businesses now have no choice but to adapt to the new circumstances.
“Those companies that have received the minimum wage for their employees from the state will have to keep them employed until the autumn, but after autumn, I fear there will be plenty of layoffs. July, September, October, November, and the end of the year will be more problematic because we will see the real consequences of the crisis,” said businessman Zoran Drakulić for Blic Biznis.
He added that an economic recovery will certainly take two to three years.
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“I think 2021 will be problematic and difficult also. It won’t be easy. It’s all a question of when we will find the vaccine (against the coronavirus) and when we will get out of it all, when the borders will open, when the tourism, the economy, the aviation industry and other branches would start functioning fully. It will take time. Unfortunately, this will be a deep crisis,” says Drakulić.
The Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, said that great challenges await us, as it is difficult to estimate how long the health crisis caused by the coronavirus will last.
“It is not just a liquidity crisis. We will see what autumn and the next period will bring. Businesses have no choice but to adapt to the new circumstances. We have to find a way to function in the new system imposed by changed circumstances in the international market. In difficult times, flexibility in business, innovative ideas and knowledge are the only things that bring human civilization forward,” Mali said.
Economists estimate that the dismissal of workers can be expected mainly in activities that produce durable consumer goods, capital products, as well as services that are not fundamental to existence, such as tourism.
The authors of the analysis predict that the recovery in demand for products will be gradual and that it will probably take a year before demand returns to pre-crisis levels.
In May, according to the National Employment Service registers, more than 3,000 unemployed people registered with the Service. Since March 16, when the state of emergency was introduced until the end of June, the number of unemployed workers registered with the Service increased to 10,800.
(Blic, 06.07.2020)
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