More than 85.7% of enterprises in HCM City hit by COVID-19
VOV.VN - Over 85.7% of surveyed firms in Ho Chi Minh City have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 in the third quarter of the year, according to details given by the municipal Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information (FALMI).
A survey conducted by the FALMI of 11,502 local companies indicates that wholesale-retail and vehicle repair were the main sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, thereby accounting for 36.74% of those affected, following by manufacturing and processing at 16.42%.
Furthermore, information and telecommunications was the sector least impacted by the pandemic, thereby accounting for just 3.69%, according to the FALMI.
Approximately 42.7% of respondents stated they were struggling to find customers or to distribute their products. In addition, 27.15% found it challenging to access funding, 18.23% believed the provision of support policies were not timely enough, and 11.92% said they faced a shortage of input materials.
The FALMI also reported that among over 251,000 workers surveyed, a total of 51.62% have been hurt by the negative impact of the pandemic. Of those affected, 48.18% said they had their working hours reduced, whilst 32.21% lost jobs, 8.2% had their contracts suspended, 7.45% took partly paid leave, and 3.96% took unpaid leave.
Over 39% of questioned enterprises said that they plan to reduce the number of employees moving into the final months of the year.
This comes following the latest COVID-19 resurgence forcing Ho Chi Minh City to impose strict social distancing restrictions under Directive 16 in early July, thereby causing local businesses to halt their operations or scale down production.