The Irrational Fear and the cost of the Wuhan Virus, Is it worth it?

[Hypocrite-The]

The Wuhan virus was exaggerated and the gahmens now refused to admit they were wrong. More ppl will suffer now. And not from the virus but the economic destruction

Sky News host Andrew Bolt says the Australian public are being fed “absolute porkies about this coronavirus” with the latest “whopper” being delivered to scare everyone even further. Mr Bolt said when he again raises the point now is the time to relax “some of the less useful” social distancing bans, he is often subject to criticism. “They say, it's precisely because of the bans that the infection rate is so low, and I should shut up with my dangerous talk,” he said. Mr Bolt said while he believes some measures are important, the threat of coronavirus, “which is real … has been wildly exaggerated”. He said, “models that our politicians were listening to a month ago when they freaked, 150,000 could die, were plainly wrong”. Australians must “start asking questions of our politicians” such as “why did you panic and when, please when, will you stop?” he said.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Coronavirus stay-at-home customers fuel spike in demand but businesses struggle to source stock
By Nicolas Perpitch
Updated about 10 hours ago

PHOTO: Concept Music owner Graham Hoskins says he cannot keep up with demand for instruments. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)
RELATED STORY: Coronavirus economic shocks put a greater focus on Australia-India relations
RELATED STORY: From guitars to bikes to hardware, gaps on the shelf are appearing amid a 'serious pinch'
Two months ago, businesses around Perth started noticing supplies were being delayed and it was becoming difficult to obtain some parts after COVID-19 shut down factories in China.

Key points:

• Demand for some products has skyrocketed during the lockdown
• But restrictions have impacted the supply of stock from China
• Some businesses estimate it may be months until supply resumes

Now, several of those same businesses the ABC visited in February have seen a spike in demand from stay-at-home customers. But finding product for their stores has become even more difficult.

It is a problem that frustrates Wayne Evans at his North Perth bike shop.

The phone does not stop ringing with inquiries and people are constantly walking in looking for a new bike or repairs to the one that has been sitting, long unused, in their shed.

PHOTO: Cyclemania owner Wayne Evans says there are huge gaps in the market for what he can supply. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)


"In this event where people are not able go to the gym, go to the pool, go to the local playground, mum and dad and the kids are going riding," he said.

While demand is sky high, a lot of bikes are unavailable.

Warehouses around the country are running low on stock as they wait for more to arrive from China.

Coronavirus update: Follow the latest news in our daily wrap.


"It's dire. We're not going to see new season's models now for at least probably June," Mr Evans said.

"And in the meantime we're seeing massive gaps in the market for what we can supply."

People turn to music to get through crisis
Down the road at Graham Hoskins's Concept Music store, it's a similar story, where demand from people staying at home or with more time on their hands has gone through the roof.

"I wouldn't call it panic buying, but [there has been] a huge increase in demand for instruments like keyboards and guitars, even drums, where people are looking for something that's going to help them get through the situation," he said.

WA's path out of lockdown

It looks increasingly likely some of WA's coronavirus restrictions will soon be eased — but little is known about the plan to roll back the rules.


The challenge for him is also supply.

In February, shortages from manufacturers were just starting.

Back then, one customer had asked Mr Hoskins to repair the neck of their travel guitar. But the factory in China was closed and no one was answering his calls.

Now the shortages are more widespread.

"The manufacturers run a just-in-time inventory," he said.

"They're anticipating demand nine and six months out, and all of a sudden there's this big increase in demand and we can't fill that demand, and they can't fill that demand."

Supply problems hit 40 per cent of businesses
According to a recent business impact survey by WA's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about 40 per cent of the state's businesses are having trouble getting parts and supplies from interstate and overseas.

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Around 85 per cent of businesses reported cuts in customer spending. Retail, accommodation, real estate, the arts and recreation sectors were suffering the most.

Solar panel company SG Wholesale is one of the luckier ones. It is also benefitting from the stay-at-home restrictions and has managed to keep its supply chains open.

PHOTO: SG Wholesale business development manager Emmett Bray is not finding it so tough. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)


"Consumers are starting to form an appetite to really reduce those cost pressures that are associated with working from home and having those increased electricity bills," the company's business development manager Emmett Bray said.

"And now we've found that China is actually back online, so from a manufacturing point of view they're almost at full capacity."

Border closure, JobKeeper not very handy
Despite the fact more people a working from home, they are not necessarily doing more handy work.

Two months ago, family-owned hardware store Beyond Tools was faced with the problem that the factory in Qingdao, China, which produced its panel saws was no longer receiving component parts from its suppliers.

Their supply ground to a halt.

The good news is those components have started arriving again and the company is expecting a new shipment of the panel saws to arrive.

PHOTO: Francis Barr from hardware store Beyond Tools says business has slumped but not enough to access the Job Keeper program. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)


But business manager Francis Barr said the retailer was now faced with a new dilemma.

It cannot send its technicians to install the machines for interstate clients.

How will WA's border closures work?

WA is closing its borders to the east for the first time in its history. Here's how you might be affected.


"We are stuck because of the border closure. We've got the goods arriving but we cannot install and commission. So the customer will not pay us the money," Mr Barr said.

The number of people coming through the doors at Beyond Tools had already started declining in February.

Business is still down on pre-crisis levels, but not enough for the company to qualify for the JobKeeper program.

"We don't qualify for that because we haven't hit the 30 per cent mark. So businesses like ours are suffering," Mr Barr said.

They want the policy tweaked to give them much-needed wage relief.

 

[rocket]

This is @ginfreely style of trolling.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

This is the result of the lockdowns n economic destruction due to the fear of the wuhan virus. May all those who bought about such misery and those who wants it burn in hell.

Layoffs, crimes on the rise in Indonesia as large-scale social distancing measures take effect - The Online Citizen
Yas
Several parts of Indonesia such as Jakarta, West Java, Banten, and West Sumatera have enforced large-scale social distancing measures (PSBB) in a bid to contain COVID-19 infection rates in the country, part of which has seen a ban on mass gatherings and restriction on the people’s mobility.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on Wednesday (22 April) had even announced the extension of PSBB measures in the capital city to 22 May.

Many people in the affected regions, however, have raised concerns regarding how the restrictions will trigger crime, given that even sectors most badly hit by the pandemic such as airlines and hospitality are forced to cease their operations.

Hariyadi Budi Santoso Sukamdani, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) hoped that besides putting people’s health as a top priority, the government would also pay attention to economic activities halted by the pandemic to avoid layoffs.

He added that several retailers and SMEs cannot pay their employees’ salaries, resulting in increased unemployment among the young generation.

Many fresh university graduates, Hariyadi noted, could not find a job due to the outbreak.

Secretary at the Coordinating Ministry of Economy, Susiwijono, said on Friday (24 April) that around 500,000 workers in Jakarta had been affected by the pandemic.

The number of retrenched workers in Jakarta is the highest in the country, he said.

To mitigate the problem of unemployment and retrenchment, the central government is distributing a pre-employment card (Kartu Pra-Kerja) and speeding up labour-intensive projects initiated by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing.

Crime during social distancing on the rise
The crime rate has also increased by 11.8 per cent during the enforcement of PSBB, said the national police force.

Motorbike-theft and robbery targeting minimarkets are the most commonly seen crimes during the PSBB.

Head of Public Relations at the Jakarta Regional Police Commissioner Yusri Yunus said at a press conference on 18 April that robbers had switched their targets to minimarkets due to the government’s call for the public to stay at home.

Yunus added that his side is still tracking down three members of minimarket robbery syndicate, who have been operating since February until the implementation of PSBB in Jakarta.

Last week, Yunus stated that his side had nabbed a gang of motorbike thieves that has stolen 60 times, Tempo reported on 16 April.

Yunus, however, snubbed the link between robbery during the PSBB enforcement and the release of inmates to curb the COVID-19 spread.

Hasto Atmojo Suroyo, a criminologist at the University of Indonesia, told Harian Terbit that it was too early to link the rise in crime rates in Jakarta to the social distancing policy, as the crime rate in the capital had been high even before the PSBB was enforced.

So far, the central government has provided relief to low-income families in Indonesia in the form of cash aid and packages containing daily essentials to help them cope with the PSBB measures.

A woman who had passed away as a result of extreme hunger and psychological pressure after reportedly not eating for two days, however, in an interview with KompasTV which was broadcast a day before her death, said that she did not receive aid despite having applied for it.

Head of Serang City Communication and Information Office Hari Pamungkas said that while the late Yuli Nur Amelia’s family had been recorded as one of the beneficiaries of aid in the COVID-19 task force, the local administration had limited capability to distribute the aid.

“Our resources are limited. We need [the help from] everyone. We cannot work by ourselves. We need all society to work together and support each other. Let’s not blame each other. We all are facing this pandemic together,” said Hari.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Poverty-stricken Thai parents resort to suicide under extreme financial distress due to COVID-19 pandemic - The Online Citizen
Neyla Zannia
Source: the Nation Thailand.

This article contains graphic descriptions of suicide that may be distressing to readers. Readers’ discretion is advised.

The COVID-19 outbreak has taken a great toll on economies worldwide — and low-income groups are being hit hardest not only financially but also psychologically, as seen in the case of a Thai father who had committed suicide due to financial distress.

Supasit Chaokla, 42, was found hanging on Thursday (23 April) after the Thai government rejected his application for a relief payment of Bt5,000 (S$220), leaving him with no money to support his daughter.

Authorities estimated that Supasit, who resided in the Udon Thani province in northeastern Thailand, committed suicide two days earlier.

Jiamsri Chakla, 62, the deceased’s mother, told the news media that after getting divorced, Supasit had raised his 15-year-old daughter alone.

However, his income began to shrink last month after the emergency decree was announced.

The father owned a small eatery with daily operational costs of S$22-S$27.

However, as people stayed at home during the lockdown, his revenue fell to S$9-S$14.

He was stressed out as he had to pay as much as S$440 for her daughter’s school once the term restarted.

He was hoping that the relief payment from the government would help him to pay the cost.

He then became suicidal when his application was rejected.

Earlier, a Thai mother-of-two had committed suicide after losing her job during the pandemic.

Irada Lordpet, a resident of Maha Sarakham province in central northeastern Thailand, was found hanging in her bathroom by her brother on Monday (20 April).

He had rushed her to the hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.

According to Somjit Siwai, headwoman of the Pao village where Irada lived, the deceased’s family was poverty-stricken, The Nation Thailand reported.

In addition to that, Irada had just divorced and had recently lost her job selling drinking yoghurt.

Irada had reportedly undergone extreme distress as a result of losing her income. She was not able to pay her bills and could not even purchase milk for her baby.

The deceased had reportedly made a request to Somjit to extend her a loan. The headwoman said she would call the bank.

However, Irada’s mother soon contacted Somjit to inform the headwoman that her daughter was dead.

43-year-old Indonesian woman dies of extreme hunger and psychological pressure due to poverty
Separately on Monday, a 43-year-old woman in Indonesia had passed away as a result of extreme hunger and psychological pressure after reportedly not eating for two days.

Yuli Nur Amelia and her husband had lost their source of income due to the pandemic.

A day before she passed away, Kompas TV broadcasted an interview with her in which she shared her family’s struggles.

The late Yuli shared that she and her husband were both low-wage workers. She worked as an outsourced employee who was placed on unpaid leave after the coronavirus outbreak.

Her husband worked as a scavenger collecting plastic waste. However, he is no longer able to do it, as many buyers have closed their business during the pandemic.

As a result, the family could only afford to drink water and eat unripe cassava from their garden.

“We cannot do anything but feel sad,” she said.

The late Yuli, who lived in the city of Serang in West Java, also stated that her family had not received any aid from the government.

“Not yet, [but] I have applied [for it],” she said.

Head of Serang City Communication and Information Office Hari Pamungkas said that the family had been recorded as one of the beneficiaries of aid in the COVID-19 task force, but the administration had limited capability to distribute the aid.

“Our resources are limited. We need [the help from] everyone. We cannot work by ourselves. We need all society to work together and support each other. Let’s not blame each other. We all are facing this pandemic together,” said Hari.

 

[Xisiqomelir]

Aiyo why this siamkia hang himself rather than pull the daughter out of school?

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Coronavirus restrictions have turned WA into an island, but how long can businesses last?
By Eliza Borrello
Posted 13mminutes ago

Bryce Humphrey's business, Outback Horizons, takes visitors to attractions including the Bungle Bungles.(Supplied)
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When COVID-19 saw Australia's borders closed to international travellers just over six weeks ago, Kimberley tour operator Bryce Humphrey's business, Outback Horizons, effectively shut too.
Key points:

• Tourism operators say the JobKeeper program is a lifeline for business
• But experts believe the stimulus won't be enough to keep many afloat
• It's feared some businesses will fail within three to six months

"They closed the international borders and emails and phone calls started coming in that night … because some of the guests were actually due to fly out that night," he said.
"They were on their way to the airport from London and that obviously started to set alarm bells off."
The hurt was compounded just a few weeks later when Western Australia imposed some of the strictest border restrictions in the nation, effectively closing itself off to the rest of the country for the first time in history.
The financial fallout was swift.

"It's been a 100 per cent drop in income and business and there is no salvaging," he said.

When Australia's borders closed, Bryce Humphrey's business effectively shut too.(Supplied)
"It is just heartbreaking.
"It's been of no fault of our own and you know, you always have in the back of your mind having a slow season or slow period, but everything just being turned upside down and wiped off the plate … it's hard to deal with."
The Federal Government's JobKeeper package has provided a lifeline that Mr Humphrey said would keep his business afloat for six months.
"It's going to be tight, it's going to be tough … and we will have to get rid of some of the assets that we've got," he said.
But if travel restrictions did not ease within six months, he said he would need to borrow heavily.
Coronavirus update: Follow all the latest news in our daily wrap
"If we could get going by August that would be ideal, but look it's going to be an absolute stretch to get anything past that," he said.
"We will manage, but it's going to be going into a lot of debt."
Businesses will 'go to the wall'
WA’s regional chambers of commerce and industry recently polled 371 businesses across WA and more than three-quarters said they were confident they would outlast the pandemic.
But three to six months was how long Paul Alexander, an Associate Professor at Curtin University's School of Management, predicted many businesses would last with the current restrictions in place.

An Outback Horizons tour group watches a smoking ceremony on the Mitchell Plateau.(Supplied)
"Can we keep existing like this, realistically, for six months from now? The answer is no," he said.
"Every business is taking a massive hit in one form or another. A lot of them will go to the wall."

"I think three to six months is as long as we will survive."

He based his prediction on many businesses having contingency plans for between three to six months.
WA COVID-19 snapshot

• Confirmed cases so far: 551
• Recovered: 523
• Deaths: 9
• Tested negative: 45,616

Latest information from the WA Health Department
"Complete disruption of just a few months is a serious existential threat," he said.
"They [businesses] go into the unknown and the unthinkable at that point.
"This means they have thought through and already negotiated a way of surviving for three months, perhaps with reduced repayment plans, drawing on reserves, changing their business models, delaying and reducing non-essential expenses, changing markets, deferring asset acquisition and absorbing higher expenses.
"There will have been some thoughts for six months, but more savage responses to stay viable will be required."
Calls for JobKeeper extension
Associate Professor Alexander said the JobKeeper program was also "literally" buying businesses time.

Paul Alexander fears many tourism businesses will not last six months under existing restrictions.(Supplied)
"However, many things in business have a three- to six-month cycle that provides gates through which they must pass to stay viable," he said.
"And these gates close when a company defaults on things like lease and insurance payments, falls below statutory reserves including for staff benefits, delays of things like maintenance or product development, and posts of negative revenue and other forecasts that send strong 'sell' signals to the market."
The JobKeeper program is due to run until the end of September.
Mr Humphrey has called for Kimberley businesses to get a special six-month continuance, given that is when the region's tourist season ends and floodwaters brought by the wet season make many attractions inaccessible.

There are calls for Kimberley businesses to receive assistance to help them through tough times.(Supplied: Tourism WA)
"[We're] just coming off of the wet season going into the dry season, which is usually our peak, and then back into another wet season," he said.
"[So if borders stay shut for six months] it ends up being close to 18 months [without income]."
Popular support for border closure
University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of politics and international relations Martin Drum said public opinion was currently in favour of border restrictions.
How will WA's border closures work?

WA is closing its borders to the east for the first time in its history. Here's how you might be affected.
Read more
"The approach of keeping the borders shut is probably quite popular at the moment," he said.
"Whether that will be the case over a period of time is another thing.
"Indeed it might get a bit harder down the track if we have very low [COVID-19] transmission rates, not just in WA but across Australia, probably to keep those borders in place.
"You wouldn't want to miss a family wedding, you wouldn't want to miss a funeral."
How fast is coronavirus growing around the world?

This chart uses a logarithmic scale to highlight coronavirus growth rates. Read our explainer to understand what that means — and what we can learn from countries that have slowed the spread.
Mr Humphrey said he did not want the Kimberley's vulnerable population put at risk by borders being reopened too soon, but was looking forward to sharing the region with visitors once it was safe.
"I'm sure people have been crammed up in homes and in cities and they just want to get out in the outdoors, and the Kimberley's the perfect place to do that," he said.
"There is abundant wildlife, there's vast landscapes … there's nowhere else like it on earth."

 

[Hypocrite-The]

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Coronavirus shutdown costing Australian economy $4 billion a week as National Cabinet prepares to assess restrictions - ABC News
Posted 1h

Josh Frydenberg will address the National Press Club on Tuesday.(ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
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Maintaining the coronavirus shutdown is costing the economy $4 billion a week, according to new Treasury analysis that will be considered by the nation's leaders as they meet to decide which restrictions to lift.
Key points:

• Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will give details of a new report into the economy when addressing the National Press Club
• The analysis will be considered by the National Cabinet when discussing the possible lifting of restrictions
• Mr Frydenberg will stress the importance of "getting people back to work as soon as possible"

Treasury estimates the mass closure of businesses and activities, designed to stop the spread of the virus, will see Gross Domestic Product plunge by 10 per cent in the June quarter — the equivalent of $50 billion being wiped from the economy.
In a speech to be delivered to the National Press Club on Tuesday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will say he is "reassured" by National Cabinet's decision to bring forward its consideration of which COVID-19 restrictions to lift, and when.
"For every extra week the current restrictions remain in place, Treasury estimates that we will see close to a $4 billion reduction in economic activity from a combination of reduced workforce participation, productivity, and consumption," he is expected to say.
Treasury has predicted unemployment will double to 10 per cent in the June quarter — its highest rate in 26 years — meaning an estimated 700,000 Australians are expected to join the jobless as a result of this crisis.
Mr Frydenberg notes in previous recessions, the longer people stayed out of work, the harder it was for them to get a job.
"In the early 1990s, unemployment increased by 5 per cent over three years, but took seven years to get back to its pre-crisis level," he will tell the Press Club.
"It underlines the importance of getting people back to work as soon as possible to avoid the long-term economic and social impacts from a high unemployment rate."
But this bleak economic outlook was not unique to Australia, with Mr Frydenberg warning "the economic shock the world is confronting dwarfs the global financial crisis".
More than 100 countries have gone to the International Monetary Fund seeking assistance, raising fears about the number of possible failed states on the other side.
By closing the borders, quarantining travellers, shutting businesses and socially distancing, Australia has exceeded expectations, flattening the curve quickly and aggressively suppressing the coronavirus.
This success has also prompted questions from some quarters about whether the nation's leaders went too hard and fast with the partial shutdown, given the profound and long-lasting damage it's caused to the economy.
Mr Frydenberg is set to address this criticism on Tuesday, releasing Treasury analysis on the expected cost of a total lockdown.
"If these restrictions were increased even further, akin to the eight-week lockdown in Europe, then the adverse impact on GDP could double to 24 per cent, or $120 billion, in the June quarter," he is expected to say.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Singapore retail sales suffer biggest drop in 22 years; supermarkets buck trend
People buy eggs at a supermarket in Singapore
People buy eggs at a supermarket amid fears of a disruption in supplies after Malaysia announced the closure of its borders following the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore, Mar 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
05 May 2020 02:29PM
(Updated: 05 May 2020 05:33PM)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore's retail sales in March fell at the steepest pace in 22 years as consumption across nearly all categories plunged due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but a few sectors were unscathed, most notably supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Retail sales fell 13.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, data released by the Department of Statistics (SingStat) showed on Tuesday (May 5). This is the biggest drop since September 1998, according to Reuters.

SingStat attributed the decline in retail trade to weaker domestic consumption and fewer tourist arrivals as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Analysts said they expect retail sales to decline even further going forward as the impact from "circuit breaker" measures takes hold.

Retail sales "probably has not hit bottom yet since it’s pre-circuit breaker", said Ms Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank.

Singapore entered the circuit breaker period on Apr 7.

Ms Ling added she expects consumption to resume somewhat towards the end of the year, with retail sales resurfacing into positive growth territory in the fourth quarter at 1.8 per cent.

Even then, retail sales could still shrink by 6.6 per cent for the entire year, making it the worst annual sales year since the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, she said.

"Retail sales already declined by 8.9 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, marking the worst quarter for domestic retailers since the third quarter of 2009.

"Second-quarter retail sales are likely to contract again by 15.4 per cent year-on-year, before easing gradually to a more modest contraction of 4 per cent in the third quarter as the lifting of the circuit breaker may see a subsequent but likely still muted resumption of economic activities and a tepid demand recovery."

At UOB, economist Barnabas Gan noted that retail sales had already been falling even before Singapore implemented the circuit breaker measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.

March's retail sales represented the 14th consecutive month of contraction, he noted, adding that he expects full-year retail sales to decline 5 per cent, with downside risks.

"The negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, given the social distancing measures and travel restrictions in place, will likely further drag Singapore’s retail sales sector," he said.

CLOTHES, FOOTWEAR DECLINED THE MOST

Sales of clothes and footwear saw the sharpest decline of 41.6 per cent on-year, followed closely by food and alcohol. Department stores were also badly hit.

Compared to February, sales of food and alcohol, and motor vehicles fell 21.6 per cent and 16.4 per cent respectively.

Similarly, sales of optical goods and books declined 12.3 per cent, mainly because of a lower demand for books, according to SingStat.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 9.7 per cent.

SUPERMARKETS BUCK TREND

With more people staying home because of safe distancing measures, supermarkets, hypermarkets, mini-marts and convenience stores benefitted from a higher demand for groceries.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets saw higher sales of 35.9 per cent year-on-year in March, while mini-marts and convenience stores experienced a 4.7 per cent bump.

READ: Sheng Siong's Q1 profit up by nearly 50% on back of 'elevated' COVID-19 demand; employees to get additional month of salary
One such supermarket chain, Sheng Siong, previously reported a near 50 per cent rise in first quarter profits following “elevated demand” that was triggered when the Government raised the DORSCON level to Orange on Feb 7.

Likewise, business has been reportedly brisk for grocery chains, minimarts and provision shops during the COVID-19 outbreak as they mop up some of the demand from people wanting to shop close to home.

Items such as rice, oil and toilet paper were particularly popular when panic buying took place, group managing director of grocery chain HAO mart Patrick Tan explained previously.

"Now they (customers) are moving on to the fresh items - fruits, vegetables, eggs ... all these are high demand items," he said.

READ: COVID-19: Minimarts, provision shops see brisk business but need additional manpower
A clear trend towards working from home was good news as well for those selling furniture, as well as computer and telecommunications equipment. These categories reported growth of between 9.3 per cent and 13.1 per cent compared to February.

Overall, the estimated total retail sales value in March was about S$3.3 billion. Of these, online retail sales made up an estimated 8.5 per cent.

table 1
(Table: SingStat)
FOOD SECTOR SEES DECLINE

Safe distancing measures also hit food and beverage services. Compared to the same period last year, sales fell 23.7 per cent in March.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food and beverage decreased 9.6 per cent in March compared to February.

The total sales value of food and beverage services in March was estimated at S$678 million. Of these, online food and beverage sales made up an estimated 15.6 per cent.

Turnover of food caterers and restaurants fell 58.1 per cent and 30.3 per cent respectively in March compared to the previous year.

READ: Singapore to start gradual easing of circuit breaker measures as COVID-19 community cases decline
table 2
(Table: SingStat)
Sales at cafes, food courts and other eating places, and fast food outlets decreased 14.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, these outlets and restaurants recorded lower sales of between 1.3 per cent and 9.4 per cent during this period.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

US unemployment at historic levels, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April due to coronavirus - ABC News
Posted 1h

The US unemployment rate hit 14.7 per cent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished.(AP: Paul Sancya, File)
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The US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is battering the world's biggest economy.
Key points:

• US jobless rate surged to an historic 14.7 per cent, up from just 4 per cent in a month
• 5 million Americans had their hours reduced as underemployment reached a record high
• President Donald Trump said job losses were not surprising and they would be back "very soon"

The Department of Labor's closely watched monthly employment report also showed the unemployment rate surging to 14.7 per cent last month, shattering the post-World War II record of 10.8 per cent touched in November 1982.
The bleak numbers strengthen analysts' expectations of a slow recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic, adding to a pile of dismal data on consumer spending, business investment, trade, productivity and the housing market.
The report underscores the devastation unleashed by lockdowns imposed by states and local governments in mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.
"Our economy is on life support now," said Erica Groshen, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and now a senior extension faculty member at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Lost jobs will be 'back very soon', Trump says

Mr Trump said it was no surprise jobs were lost during the crisis.(Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)
After the Trump administration was criticised for its initial reaction to the pandemic, President Donald Trump has been eager to reopen the economy, despite a continued rise in COVID-19 infections and dire projections of deaths.
"It's fully expected, there's no surprise … even the Democrats aren't blaming me for that," Mr Trump said when asked about the "terrible" job figures in an interview with Fox News.
The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. As recently as February, the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5 per cent, and employers had added jobs for a record 113 months. In March, the unemployment rate was just 4.4 per cent.
The Government's report noted that many people who lost jobs in April but did not look for another one were not even counted in the unemployment rate.
The impact of those losses was reflected in the drop in the proportion of working-age Americans who have jobs — just 51.3 per cent, the lowest on record.
In addition to the millions of newly unemployed, 5.1 million others had their hours reduced in April.
That trend, too, means less income and less spending, perpetuating the economic downturn. A measure of underemployment — which counts the unemployed plus full-time workers who were reduced to part-time work — reached 22.8 per cent, a record high.
Economists warn of slow rebound in labour market

More than 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits.(David Grunfeld/The Advocate Via AP)
Though millions of Americans continue to file claims for unemployment benefits, April could mark the trough in job losses.
More small businesses are accessing their portion of an almost $US3 trillion ($3.6 trillion) fiscal package, which made provisions for them to get loans that could be partially forgiven if they were used for employee salaries.
The Federal Reserve has also thrown businesses credit lifelines and many states are also partially reopening.
Companies like Walmart and Amazon are hiring workers to meet the huge demand in online shopping.
Truck drivers are also in demand, while supermarkets, pharmacies and courier companies need workers. Still, economists do not expect a quick rebound in the labour market.
"Given the expected shift in consumer behaviour reflecting insecurities regarding health, wealth, income, and employment, many of these firms will not reopen or, if they do reopen, hire fewer people," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at TS Lombard in New York.
Economists say the economy entered recession in late March when nearly the whole country went into COVID-19 lockdowns.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of US recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real gross domestic product, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.
Reuters/AP

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Commentary: Who will bear the costs of COVID-19?
Governments face a temptation to extend the emergency and defer the eventual reckoning and distribution of costs, says Professor Harold James.
Stay-at-home orders have clearly saved lives by reducing the number of new COVID-19 patients streaming into overwhelmed hospitals, but measures to project health have also come at a steep economic and social cost AFP/Kay Nietfeld
By Harold James
12 May 2020 06:33AM(Updated: 12 May 2020 06:40AM)
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PRINCETON, New Jersey: When and how to end the COVID-19 lockdown has become the leading political question in every afflicted country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone so far as to describe the increasingly intense debate as a collection of “discussion orgies".

At the heart of the issue is the question of how to distribute the soaring economic and fiscal costs associated with the crisis. The closest historical analogy is to the 20th century’s interwar period, which offered a crash course in navigating extreme fiscal circumstances.
LESSONS FROM HISTORY
Like the COVID-19 crisis, World War I was a prolonged affair, lasting much longer than people initially expected. In the summer of 1914, many assumed that it would all be over by Christmas.
Likewise, in early 2020, many hoped that a brief shutdown would stop the spread of the virus in its tracks. In both cases, the economic shock was grossly underestimated at the outset.

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READ: Commentary: It is time central banks and governments shoot for negative interest rates

World War I triggered two completely different kinds of national response, though this wasn’t apparent initially. Each brought long-term disruption, but one was far more calamitous than the other.
No belligerent could pay for the massive military mobilisation through taxation alone, so the war was funded through borrowing, and much of that was eventually monetised by central banks.
Such action was necessary and appropriate for dealing with the emergency, and central bankers duly congratulated themselves for their can-do attitude and patriotism in the face of extenuating circumstances.
The impact on budgets was relatively uniform across countries.
By the last year of the war, military expenditures as a share of deficits were around 70 per cent in Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, 80 per cent in France, and over 90 per cent in Germany.

A 3D-printed economy stock graph is seen in front of displayed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Price increases in each country were also broadly comparable: They more than doubled, but there was no radical inflation outside of Russia.
A FISCAL OR MONETARY RESPONSE
The bigger differences emerged after the war.
The UK and the US, facing massive debt-servicing costs from their wartime liabilities, tried to return to normal as quickly as possible.
READ: Commentary: Singapore’s aviation and tourism recovery will be very slow after COVID-19 but long-term outlook remains bright

LISTEN: COVID-19: Aviation and flying never ever the same again

That meant pursuing a balanced budget through substantial tax increases, including unprecedentedly high tax rates for the rich.
This approach – the modern world’s first experience of induced austerity – choked off demand and triggered an exceptionally deep but short-lived recession.
By contrast, a defeated Germany, like almost every other central European country, feared severe deflation.
With the population exhausted and demoralised by the conflict and its outcome, the government was not inclined to impose new taxes.
Policymakers considered social programs necessary for maintaining domestic peace and order, so they relied on the central bank to do the financing, and continued to spend freely on welfare payments and public-sector employment.
Unlike the UK and the US, the German government assumed that the wartime emergency had not ended; the peace was merely an extension of the conflict.
Policy discussions continued to feature emergency measures and the radical rhetoric that had been used to justify similar policies during the war. Of course, Germany’s policy response eventually produced hyperinflation, and much more profound social disintegration thereafter.
WHO WILL PICK UP THE TAB?
Policymakers today will face a similar temptation to extend the emergency and defer the eventual reckoning and distribution of costs.
READ: Commentary: Can countries sue China for COVID-19? Should they?
After all, it is not clear what would even constitute an end to the COVID-19 crisis, given that there could be recurrent waves of infection, as happened with the influenza pandemic that began at the end of WWI.

There are worries that strict measures to contain COVID-19, which have locked down billions of people, will be extended and deal a deeper blow to the global economy AFP/Raul ARBOLEDA

Moreover, the response to the 2008 global financial crisis set a terrible precedent.
As with any wartime mobilisation, emergency actions to deal with the immediate crisis were clearly needed.
But a perception of fragility and vulnerability remained long after the emergency had passed, because many countries were unwilling or unable to pursue debt reduction through write downs, for fear that doing so would trigger a new wave of financial turmoil.
As in the aftermath of 2008, policymakers today are committed to doing “whatever it takes.”
While major central banks have the firepower to deal with the immediate liquidity crisis, the hard part will come with the allocation of costs.
These costs will include not just the increased spending to deal with the medical emergency, but also the losses incurred by businesses affected by the lockdown.
If private enterprises are not bailed out, the question shifts to the fate of their workers. Will temporary measures to compensate for displaced workers’ lost income become new permanent features of the welfare state? Will countries start embracing some form of universal minimum or basic income?
READ: Commentary: Get ready for the great American bankruptcy
READ: Commentary: The brewing concern over jobs and salaries as COVID-19 persists
The 1920s were also a time of radical social-policy experimentation.
The lesson from that period is that such programs cannot be financed simply through a continuation of emergency measures.
To be sustained, they eventually must be priced correctly and funded through taxation or, in some cases, with the help of debt cancellation.
Obviously, when confronting an emergency, one shouldn’t think about the bill. But nor can one ignore what comes next.
Those now calling for an immediate end to the lockdown have an obligation to speak frankly and openly about how costs will be distributed in the future.
So far, this debate has been evaded. The experience of the interwar period suggests that avoiding the hard questions is a recipe for disaster.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Harold James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Commentary: COVID-19 shows there is no place for panic in policymaking
In some countries, blind panic has led to policies that generate more risks such as economic hardship and food insecurity, said former chief economist of the World Bank Kaushik Basu.
FILE PHOTO: People wait to receive free food at an industrial area, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Delhi, India, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo

By Kaushik Basu
10 May 2020 06:14AM(Updated: 10 May 2020 06:20AM)
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MUMBAI: Humans are bad at assessing risk even in the best of times. During a pandemic – when the disease is unfamiliar, people are isolated and stressed, and the death toll is rising – our risk perception becomes even more distorted, with fear often overwhelming reason.
This is a recipe for disastrous policy mistakes.

To be sure, the danger posed by the COVID-19 outbreak should not be underestimated.
The experiences of Italy, Spain, and the United States, in particular, have shown that delayed action to limit the virus’s spread can lead to large-scale illness and death.
But blind panic does nobody any good.
READ: Commentary: Can you catch the coronavirus twice?

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PANIC POLICIES
In many countries, especially in the developing world, it is leading to policies that generate more risks – such as economic hardship, food insecurity, and generalised anxiety – than they mitigate.
Smart policymaking will require leaders and citizens alike to gain a broader perspective.
While it’s difficult to know COVID-19’s precise fatality rate, we are much better at counting fatalities than the number of people who are infected, since the latter requires testing on a massive scale.
And from the fatality data, it is evident that the risk of death remains very low for most people – that is, anyone who is not elderly and has no comorbidities.
In most developing countries, one has a much higher chance of dying in a road accident than from COVID-19.
In India, more than 150,000 people die in road accidents each year.
But most people are not nervous wrecks when they drive on a highway, whereas many have been terrified to go outside since the pandemic began.
READ: Commentary: This COVID-19 outbreak, corporate leaders should acknowledge they don’t have all the answers
The large literature in psychology on “salience” helps us understand this, as the Nobel laureate economist George Akerlof has shown.
Say you were looking to buy the safest-possible car. You would probably read up on models’ safety data – how many electronic or mechanical failures, accidents, or fatalities occurred for every, say, 10,000 cars on the road – and choose the model with the lowest number.
But the night before you plan to purchase the car, you meet up with a friend, who tells you that a skidding accident in the model you’ve chosen left their cousin gravely injured just a week after he started driving it.
This conversation would cause many people to doubt – and even change – their decision, because the risk their chosen car poses is now more salient than the dry data about 10,000 cars.
FIGURES LIE TOO
Even the way the numbers themselves are presented can distort the picture.

People wearing masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) arrive at Gimpo international airport in Seoul, South Korea, May 1, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

If one list shows the total number of accidents involving various kinds of cars, one brand may appear to be doing far worse than others, simply because it is more popular.
It might seem obvious that accident rates are more important than the total number of accidents, yet that nuance can be lost, especially when fear is involved.
Something similar is occurring today with COVID-19 data.
READ: Commentary: North Korea has been trolling us all this while
READ: Commentary: Get ready for the great American bankruptcy

In recent weeks, people all over the world have been watching the number of confirmed US coronavirus-related deaths climb steadily, to nearly 70,000.
This is, of course, far more than Belgium’s 8,000 deaths. But, per 10 million residents, Belgium’s record (just under 8,000) is far worse than America’s (about 2,120).
As of now, a person in Belgium is more than three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than someone in the US.
The difference between death rates in North America and Europe, on the one hand, and Africa and Asia, on the other, is even starker.
The chances that a person will die from COVID-19 in Europe is typically 2,000 to 4,000 times higher than in Africa or South Asia.
Even when considering only the better-performing European countries, the gap is large: The risk of COVID-19 fatality in Germany is about 100 times higher than in India.
The risk of destitution, however, is much higher in India than in Germany.
READ: Commentary: Why is Germany’s COVID-19 fatality rate so low?
READ: Commentary: Can countries sue China for COVID-19? Should they?
TRADE-OFFS IN POLICIES
Yet, rather than factor these differences into their policymaking, many developing-countries have focused single-mindedly on mitigating the ultra-salient, but statistically low risk of dying from COVID-19.
The costs of this approach are mounting.
In emerging economies in Africa and South Asia, prolonged lockdowns represent a trade-off not between saving lives and saving stock prices, but between saving some lives from COVID-19 and condemning far more people to destitution, hunger and death by other means.
Some will argue that this conclusion is premature.
Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, and Nigeria, which have low fatality rates today, could face a devastating wave of infections tomorrow. Policymakers must anticipate future risks and act early to mitigate them.

A man walks past a closed Toyota car dealership during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) nationwide lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa, April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

But it is not at all clear that the outbreak will follow the same trajectory in South Asia and Africa as it has in Europe and North America.
The magnitude of the differences between all countries in Africa and South Asia, and virtually all countries in North America and Europe is large enough to suggest that other factors may affect COVID-19 virus transmission.
READ: Commentary: Malaysia is beating all these brutal COVID-19 expectations
LISTEN: COVID-19: Aviation and flying never ever the same again

One possibility is widespread use of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis, in South Asia and Africa, where TB and malaria infections are far more common.
This is not to say that developing-country leaders should not prepare for future risks, especially given how much we still don’t know about COVID-19.
They certainly must not dismiss or downplay the risks, as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has done, even as the bodies pile up.
But leaders must also avoid counter-productive, fear-driven responses.
Instead, they must make difficult but balanced choices based on accurate data and expert advice; adapt their policies as information and conditions change; and keep people informed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are both models of such leadership.
The same goes for citizens.
To help protect our communities, we must take all appropriate and feasible public-health precautions, such as wearing masks and minimising physical contact, especially with vulnerable people.
We must recognise, however, that a large part of such behaviour is necessary not because of the risk to oneself, but because of the social responsibility that confronting an infectious disease necessarily implies.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Kaushik Basu, former Chief Economist of the World Bank and former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, is Professor of Economics at Cornell University and Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Coronavirus crisis sees more than 62,000 WA jobs lost as new unemployment data bites state budget forecasts
By Nicolas Perpitch
Posted 7hhours ago, updated 1hhour ago

Unemployment in WA has jumped from 5.4 per cent to 6 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.(AAP: Stefan Postles)
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More than 62,000 West Australians lost their jobs in April as COVID-19 restrictions meant businesses were forced to shut or slash staff numbers across the state.
Key points:

• Unemployment is WA has shot up to 6 per cent, from 5.4 per cent
• Workforce participation has also dropped, to 2.8 per cent
• Treasurer Ben Wyatt is warning of reduced revenue to the state

New labour force data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today showed WA's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 5.4 to 6 per cent.
The state suffered the fourth-largest decrease in employment in the nation, after New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, with an extra 62,300 people now out of work.
The 6 per cent unemployment rate, while lower than the national figure of 6.2 per cent, also reflects a big drop in the workforce participation rate, dropping 2.8 points — the equal highest with New South Wales — to 65.2 per cent.
Coronavirus update: Follow all the latest news in our daily wrap
Premier Mark McGowan, who last month estimated the true unemployment rate was closer to 10-11 per cent, said today's figures highlighted how much coronavirus had hurt the economy.

"That is devastating for many people, and many families and many businesses, absolutely devastating," he said today.

The Premier predicted thousands of jobs would be created when cafes and restaurants reopened for seated patrons from next week, and when people started to take holidays in the regions once again.
"But let's not sugar-coat this, this is a very serious set of figures and we need to focus on the economy as we come out of the pandemic," he said.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said he expected unemployment figures to further worsen.(ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)
Mr McGowan said he expected the unemployment rate would get worse in coming months, but he said the Government was trying to increase economic activity.
"That's why we're taking steps to get kids back to school, so parents can go back to work," he said.
"That's why we're encouraging workplaces to reopen. That's why we put in place measures which are the most generous in Australia to get workplaces reopened again."
More West Australians leave workforce
In total there are now 82,800 unemployed people in WA.
But that number does not include the 62,000 extra people who left the workforce and are not classed as unemployed because they are no longer looking for work, pushing down the workforce participation rate.
What happens when the stimulus stops?

The Government's massively costly JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs are keeping millions either in work or at a decent income level. But what happens to the economy if they stop suddenly, as planned, by the end of September?
Read more
And it does not take into consideration people on the Commonwealth's JobKeeper program, who may not be currently working but are not considered unemployed.
That helps explain why ABS data showing the number of hours worked in all jobs over the month in WA was at its lowest level since April 2010, when the number of people in the workforce was significantly lower.
It also reflects people who have had their hours cut.
At the same time, the number of underemployed people in the state is now 201,900, an increase of more than 60,000.
Thriving pilates studio 'back to square one'
Olivia Stell's pilates studio in Perth's CBD had been open for just under two years and was starting hit its stride when COVID-19 hit.
"We started doing really well, we got lots of city workers at lunch times, we were pumping," she said.
"Then COVID happened and the first thing to rein back was city working. No one was in the city anymore."

Pilates instructor Olivia Stell had to sack five staff when coronavirus closed her thriving business.(ABC News: Charlotte Hamlyn)
Ms Stell and her business partner had five other instructors on their books when they were forced to shut down.
All of their staff lost their jobs overnight.

"They lost all of their income on one day. It was really hard for them to take. It was a horrible conversation," Ms Stell said.

She has since taken her classes online in a bid to retain her clients and planned to reopen her studio with limited numbers when restrictions eased next week.
But she said the recovery would be slow.
"We'll just have to start from scratch," she said.
"My business partner and I worked so hard to get it where it was and it feels like we're back to square one. It's quite disheartening."
New home sales plunge 25 per cent
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief economist Aaron Morey said the employment figures were the most extraordinary ever seen in the state.
"Twenty million fewer hours worked in April, compared to the previous month, driving the underemployment rate to 15 per cent, well above the level that we've ever seen before in this state," Mr Morey said.
The latest economic data comes as the WA Housing Industry Association (HIA) released its own figures showing new home sales in Western Australia fell 25.2 per cent since COVID-19 restrictions began last month.

New home sales in WA have collapsed since the outbreak of coronavirus.(ABC News: Graeme Powell)
"The COVID collapse puts new homes sales in WA at their lowest level seen since HIA began collecting new home sales data nearly 20 years ago," executive director Cath Hart said.
"In addition, 30 per cent of existing home building projects are being cancelled or put on hold — four times the normal rate of 7 per cent.
"Overall, this is a 50 per cent contraction in WA's home building pipeline as a result of COVID-19."
Economic pain 'inevitable': Treasurer
Treasurer Ben Wyatt gave an economic update to State Parliament earlier today in lieu of the 2020-21 state budget, which has been pushed back until October 8 because of the pandemic.
WA's coronavirus stimulus package explained

The WA Government announces a $607 million economic stimulus package targeting households and small businesses, so what does it mean for you?
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Mr Wyatt said some sectors had felt the brunt of the economic shock more than others, namely accommodation, food, arts and recreation, and discretionary retail.
Forecasting the budgetary impact of the virus was difficult, he said, but "the magnitude of this economic shock means a corresponding deterioration in the state's finances is inevitable".
Mr Wyatt said while royalty revenue from WA's largest export — iron ore — had remained resilient, it was not the case for other revenue streams.
He said significant downward revisions were expected from GST, payroll tax, transfer tax, North West Shelf grants and agency revenue collection.
The McGowan Government has so far announced $1.8 billion in economic support measures, including yesterday's grants to help struggling tourism businesses.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Coronavirus sent shockwaves through the Australian job market. Here are the numbers you need to know
By political reporter Jordan Hayne
Posted 3hhours ago, updated 1hhour ago
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
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Duration: 2 minutes 2 seconds2m 2s

PM and Treasurer respond to rise in unemployment (Photo - ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
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They're some of the first solid numbers on the impact COVID-19 restrictions are having on Australians' jobs, and they've been described as "devastating" and "terribly shocking" by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Nearly 600,000 Australians have lost their jobs in a four-week period and just as many have seen their hours slashed.
Here are some of the key numbers released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Federal Government today, and what they tell us about COVID-19's impact on the economy.
594,300
That's how many Australians lost their job in the month of April, according to the ABS.
The massive drop is predominantly due to the restrictions put in place to protect Australians from COVID-19 at the end of March.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the number as "terribly shocking, although not unanticipated", warning more dire employment numbers would follow today's announcement.
The above number doesn't include people who remain connected to their employer through the JobKeeper payment, even if they're not working right now.
Speaking of which …
More than 6 million
That's the number of people on JobKeeper, which gives businesses $1,500 per employee every fortnight, on the condition the money is passed on to workers.
Coronavirus update: Follow all the latest news in our daily wrap
Each of the 6 million people receiving payments through their workplaces is not counted as having lost their job, even if they are stood down or not working at the moment.
The number of businesses (and therefore, the number of employees) signed up to the scheme has been ticking upwards as the pandemic rolls on, even as the pinch of coronavirus restrictions begins to ease.
The scheme is budgeted to cost $130 billion over the six months it runs for.
6.2 per cent
The unemployment rate is now 6.2 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent one month ago.
The change is much more muted than some economists predicted, though that does not mean today's numbers bring positive news.
That's because the official unemployment rate only takes into account people who are looking for work, and many people have found themselves unable to do that amid the pandemic.
Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak

• Download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest on how the pandemic is impacting the world

It's the reason the number of people counted as unemployed rose by 104,500, even when the number of people out of work rose by 594,300.
Which means...
489,800
That's how many people gave up on looking for work during the month of April and were therefore not counted as unemployed in the ABS figures.
It's a drop of 2.4 per cent in what's called the participation rate — or the number of people engaged in the workforce overall including people looking for a job.
The dip, down to 63.5 per cent, is the biggest participation rate drop in Australian history.
"The large drop in employment did not translate into a similar-sized rise in the number of unemployed people because around 489,800 people left the labour force," the ABS's Bjorn Jarvis said.

"This means there was a high number of people without a job who didn't or couldn't actively look for work or weren't available for work."

13.8 per cent
The youth unemployment rate in the past month surged to 13.8 per cent, up from 11.5 per cent in March.
The seasonally adjusted number is the highest it's been in more than five years, and shows industries populated by young people — like hospitality — have been hit hard by coronavirus restrictions.
"How many young people work in the hospitality industry?" Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said.

"So it's not surprising that we have seen that increase today in youth unemployment."

Job losses also disproportionately affected women, with 325,000 of the 597,000 jobs lost in April belonging to women.
1.8 million
That's the number of people now underemployed in Australia, meaning they are not working as many hours as they'd like.
Many who remain in work have had their hours slashed, with underemployment ballooning in the past month to 1.81 million.
That's a 50 per cent increase on the previous month's total of 1.21 million, with 600,000 more people being classed as underemployed in April.
The number of hours worked across the economy reflected this and the outright job losses, dropping 9.2 per cent.
To keep the COVID-19 outbreak under control we need to keep growth factor below 1.0
Australia's current
growth factor is0.97
Mar 30
May 13
Average 15 cases per day for the past 7 days
HIGHEST1.28 Mar 18thLOWEST0.87 Apr 14th
FIND OUT MORE →

 

[Hypocrite-The]

600,000 jobs lost in coronavirus shutdown, but unemployment only rises to 6.2pc
By business reporter Michael Janda
Posted 8hhours ago, updated 2hhours ago

Lawyer Jesse Kemelfield was among the many surprised to be suddenly out of work.(ABC News: Daniel Fermer)
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Australia's unemployment rate has posted its steepest monthly rise on record, with 594,300 people losing their jobs in April as restrictions to limit coronavirus shut thousands of businesses and affected many more.
Key points:

• Nearly 600,000 people lost their jobs last month, while a further 600,000 saw their working hours cut back
• Unemployment jumped 1 percentage point to 6.2 per cent, which would have been much worse except that many people did not look for work
• In all, the ABS said 2.7 million Australians either lost their job, had their hours reduced or left the labour force last month

Melbourne-based lawyer Jesse Kemelfield is one of them.
He said he has never been out of work since leaving school and had just received a new contract with a bank when coronavirus-related restrictions started hitting the Australian economy in mid-March.
"I lost my job with the bank. I am actively looking for work at the moment and I'm also on JobSeeker payments," he said.
While he is not alone in losing work, Mr Kemelfield is one of the relatively few people looking for it right now.
The official jobless rate published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics climbed just 1 percentage point despite the mass layoffs, from 5.2 in March to 6.2 per cent in April, taking it back to levels seen as recently as September 2015. Most economists had expected it to soar above 8 per cent.
How does this compare to the 'recession we had to have'?

It's close to 30 years since Australia's last recession, which saw vast numbers of people lose their jobs or struggle to break into the workforce, as another recession looms, writes Stephen Long.
Read more
The ABS said the relatively modest rise in unemployment, despite more than half a million jobs being lost, was because of a slump in the proportion of people actively looking for work.
"The large drop in employment did not translate into a similar-sized rise in the number of unemployed people because around 489,800 people left the labour force," observed Bjorn Jarvis, the head of labour statistics at the ABS.
"The participation rate plunged from 66 per cent to 63.5 per cent, the lowest it has been in 16 years," Capital Economics analyst Marcel Theliant added.
People who are not "participating" in the "labour force" are not counted as unemployed.
'Unprecedented' drop in participation keeps unemployment rate down
Mr Jarvis said that the 2.4-percentage-point slump in the participation rate — those people either in work or actively looking for it — was unprecedented.

"This means there was a high number of people without a job who didn't or couldn't actively look for work or weren't available for work," he said.

With many businesses shut or struggling to stay afloat, job ads slumped by almost two-thirds in April, according to employment advertising website Seek.
Alicia Twohill was made redundant in January. She had an opportunity to start a pop-up food stall, but that chance was dashed by the coronavirus shutdown.

Alicia Twohill says about half of her friends are currently out of work.(ABC News: Daniel Fermer)
She has managed to pick up a little work as a disability carer, but that may end soon. Ms Twohill has applied for JobSeeker, but is unsure what the future holds.
"There's not that many jobs out there. So it's quite hard, I would say," she said.

"I've always had hospitality to step back into and never in my lifetime did I think that hospitality wasn't going to be an option."

Callam Pickering, the Asia-Pacific economist at jobs website Indeed, said if there were jobs for people to look for, encouraging participation, unemployment would be closer to the Reserve Bank and Treasury forecast of 10 per cent.
"Had the size of the labour force held steady, with everyone losing employment shifting to unemployment, then the unemployment rate would have spiked to 9.6 per cent," he said.
Underemployment hits record high as working hours slashed
But it was not just a record fall in participation that prevented the official jobless number rising higher.
"What's more, all employees who received the Government's JobKeeper wage subsidy were counted as employed, even if they didn't work any hours," Mr Theliant said.
RBC Capital Markets chief economist Su-Lin Ong noted that the ABS itself said the April jobs numbers would have been a lot worse if calculated differently.
"Interestingly, the ABS has included some analysis in today's release with comparison to recent US and Canadian labour data," she wrote.

"It suggests that if Australia adopted a similar definition to North America for temporary lay-offs or worked zero hours, the Australian unemployment rate would be at 11.7 per cent rather than 6.2 per cent."

Jobs data explained

ABC business reporter Michael Janda explains how the jobs data are calculated and what to look for in the figures.
Read more
That was reflected in the ABS measure of hours worked slumping 9.2 per cent between March and April.
When taken together with the fall in participation, the ABS said around one in five people who were employed in March either left employment altogether or had their hours reduced, affecting 2.7 million Australians.
That has shown up in much more dramatic increases in the key measures of underemployment and underutilisation, which are both at record highs, even greater than the levels seen during either the global financial crisis or early-1990s recession.
Underemployment — those with a job who wanted more hours of work — surged by more than 600,000 to 1.8 million people, taking the rate to a record high of 13.7 per cent, up nearly 5 per cent in just a month.
Underutilisation, which adds unemployment and underemployment together, also jumped to a record high of 19.9 per cent.
'Imperative' that JobKeeper not cut 'prematurely'
Mr Pickering said these numbers offer evidence that the Government's JobKeeper program has been effective, and may need to be extended rather than cut off early, as some Government MPs have called for.
What happens when the stimulus stops?

The Government's massively costly JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs are keeping millions either in work or at a decent income level. But what happens to the economy if they stop suddenly, as planned, by the end of September?
Read more
"The subsidy is imperfect — failing to cover vulnerable casual workers — but it has preserved the connection between business and employee," he said.
"It is imperative that the policy remains in place until it is no longer needed.

"Cutting or removing the subsidy prematurely could result in a second round of job losses, leaving the recovery on much weaker footing.

"Even tinkering with the policy could create uncertainty among businesses and workers, hampering consumer and business confidence."

Jesse Kemelfield is still actively looking for work, but there are few opportunities.(ABC News: Daniel Fermer)
Mr Kemelfield is still looking through the few job vacancies that exist.
"I'm not seeing anything that's giving me hope that there'll be jobs available for me soon," he said.
In the meantime, the limited coronavirus JobSeeker supplement of $550 a fortnight that is topping up his welfare benefits is all that is keeping his head above water financially.
"The Jobseeker payment is covering my rent and expenses. It's not leaving me with too much left over," he said.
If he has not found work by the time JobSeeker goes back from more than $70 to around $40-a-day, Mr Kemelfield said he will have to make some tough choices.
"It would definitely mean I'd be falling behind on payments, so I'd have to choose between some sort of necessity — whether that's rent, food or my phone account," he said.

"My sister's already moved back with my mum because she lost her job due to COVID, so it'd be a cosy household."

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Unemployment rise 'devastating' for Australians hit by coronavirus restrictions, PM Scott Morrison says
By political reporter Georgia Hitch
Posted 8hhours ago, updated 3hhours ago
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WATCH
Duration: 2 minutes 2 seconds2m 2s

PM and Treasurer respond to rise in unemployment
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the loss of nearly 600,000 jobs in April is "devastating" for Australian families and communities affected by government restrictions and business shutdowns.
Key points:

• Prime Minister says unemployment figures 'shocking' but not unanticipated
• The Federal Treasurer says women make up the majority of job losses
• Warnings there will be more bad news in the months ahead as the impact of coronavirus shutdowns becomes clearer

The comments come after the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced the unemployment rate rose from 5.2 per cent in March to 6.2 per cent in April.
"Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost, every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families and communities," the Prime Minister said.
"A very tough day, terribly shocking, although not unanticipated."
Mr Morrison said Australians should prepare themselves for similar announcements as the impact from the coronavirus shutdowns continued to become clear.
"We knew there would be hard news as the pandemic reaps an impact on Australia, as it is on countries around the world," he said.
"In the months ahead, we must brace ourselves for further hard news for Australians to take, but it's important on a day like today that we remember to support each other."
Coronavirus update: Follow all the latest news in our daily wrap
The rate is less than economists expected, with some surveyed by Reuters expecting the unemployment rate for April to reach 8.3 per cent.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the reason for the lower-than-expected rise in unemployment was because of the Government's JobKeeper program.

"Today's unemployment numbers reveal the real and painful economic impact of the coronavirus," he said.

"There is still a long way to go and the economic numbers will get worse before they get better.
"[Australians] know their government has their back."

Mr Frydenberg said of the 594,000 people no longer in work, the majority — 325,000 — were women and the youth unemployment rate also rose to 13.8 per cent, up from 11.5 per cent.
"This reiterates why our financial commitments to respond to the coronavirus were, and are, so important," he said.
The JobKeeper program, which is running for six months until September, will be reviewed at the end of June, and Mr Morrison said that would provide a chance for tweaks to be made to the scheme.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/coronacast/latest-segments/12025304
When asked whether that would include tapering off payments at the end of September, as opposed to snapping back to previous measures, Mr Morrison left the door open for change.
"The timeframe for this was set out at the time it went through the Parliament and the review will provide an opportunity to see how the program is going and the experience on the ground and make any amendments that are necessary," he said.
There are now 6 million Australians on the JobKeeper scheme and 1.6 million on the JobSeeker unemployment benefit.
Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash also announced today the suspension of the requirement for people on JobSeeker to be actively seeking work, known as mutual obligation, had been extended nine days from May 22 to June 1.
Senator Cash said the obligation would be reintroduced in three stages and there would be no penalty to people who did not fulfil their requirements during the first two stages of its reintroduction.
Opposition concerned about 'cumulative' unemployment
Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the fact the unemployment rate was lower than forecast by some economists was not a cause for celebration.
"That's a devastating figure, they're all people with families with a need to put food on the table," Mr Albanese said.
"They're people who are our friends, our relatives our neighbours.
"They're people who won't be receiving the sort of income you get in work that then helps stimulate the economy.
"The problem here is that there will be a cumulative effect."
Mr Albanese and his deputy, Jim Chalmers, also criticised the Government's JobKeeper program, saying it was leaving people like casuals and those in the arts and entertainment industries behind.
"The Labor market has been weak for some time [but] the Government wants Australians to believe everything was perfect in the economy and then along came coronavirus," Mr Chalmers said.
"Unemployment and underemployment will be worse than it needs to be because the Government has taken a good idea in JobKeeper and badly implemented it."

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Saving lives or UK economy from Covid a 'false choice', MPs warn | Coronavirus outbreak
Tory MP, Dan Poulter
Tory MP Dan Poulter said the data shows ‘the danger of thinking that the pandemic presents us with a binary choice between saving the economy or saving lives.’ Photograph: YouTube
Wed 26 Aug 2020 15.00 AEST
Saving lives or the economy in the coronavirus pandemic is a “false choice”, MPs have warned as a study confirms the UK to have one of the highest excess death rates combined with the worst projected hit to the economy.

Data analysed by the Guardian shows the UK has effectively endured the worst of both worlds, with 610 excess deaths per million while GDP is set to fall by 11.5% this year. This places it narrowly ahead of Italy and Spain, which also have high excess death figures and devastating economic forecasts.

Only Belgium had a greater proportion of excess deaths from Covid at 862 per million, though it is predicted to fare a little better economically, with a drop in GDP of around 9%, according to analysis of data on 18 countries from the OECD and Our World in Data based at the University of Oxford.

Conservative MP Dan Poulter, vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for coronavirus, said: “The OECD data is very concerning and helps show the danger of thinking that the coronavirus pandemic presents us with a binary choice between saving the economy or saving lives.

“This is a false dichotomy, and the truth is that minimising community transmission will allow a faster and stronger economic recovery. This is why the APPG on coronavirus has been pushing government to aim to reduce Covid-19 transmission to as close to zero as possible in preparation for the difficult winter months ahead.

“The government should look at [this graph] and act swiftly to … move as close to ‘zero Covid’ as is possible in the UK. This will allow us to save lives in the event of a second wave, but also lead to a fuller and faster economic recovery by avoiding subsequent damage to the economy through further lockdowns.”

At the other end of the spectrum in the Guardian’s analysis are a host of countries that have managed a lower excess deaths-per-million figure and limited economic damage.

According to data captured on 24 August, South Korea has an excess deaths-per-million figure of just six and is expected to have a fall in GDP of 1.2%. Australia, Denmark and Norway are similarly affected.

New Zealand, which had a strict lockdown early in the crisis, has an excess death rate of 4.5 but a relatively high economic cost at a forecast 9% drop in GDP.

UK government advisers have placed significant emphasis on excess death figures. England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, has described them as “the key metric” in international comparisons.

Ministers initially published an international comparison for death rates but then moved to cut that information from the slides at the daily Downing Street press conference, saying it did not show the full picture of how the country was faring in the pandemic.

A government source said the excess death rate is still useful in terms of providing a picture of how Covid has affected the country but they suggested a better picture of the UK’s resilience could be gathered at the end of 2020 for an annual comparison.

They said the GDP fallout comparison also needed contextualising: if the UK’s economy was based on manufacturing and construction, it would have fared much better, they claimed. It is not about economic mismanagement or poor choices compared to other countries, they suggested, but the fact the UK’s heavy service sector was hit by lockdown.

A government spokesperson said: “Every death from this disease is a tragedy and our sympathies are with all those who have lost loved ones.

“At all stages we have been guided by the latest scientific advice, and the action we have taken has allowed us to protect the vulnerable and ensure the NHS was not overwhelmed, even at the virus’ peak.

“Many economies around the world are facing tough times, but we have put in place unprecedented package of support to protect businesses, jobs and livelihoods, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.”

Topics

 

[Hypocrite-The]

I really hate this asshole but he said it well. Guess there is hope for everyone including right wing scumbags

Tony Abbott says governments need to face 'uncomfortable questions' about economy over lives
Posted Yesterday at 9:42pm, updated 16h
hours
A man stands in the spotlight at a lecturn.
Tony Abbott says the media has spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
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Former prime minister Tony Abbott has called for COVID-19 restrictions to be relaxed, arguing officials have become trapped in "crisis mode" and that governments need to consider "uncomfortable questions" about the number of deaths they are prepared to live with.

Key points:
Mr Abbott said governments approached the pandemic like "trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists"
He accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of wanting to extend a "health dictatorship" by pushing for an extension of state of emergency powers
He said the media had spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions
Speaking in London to the UK think tank Policy Exchange, Mr Abbott said the media had spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions.

"From a health perspective, this pandemic has been serious. From an economic perspective, it's been disastrous," he said.

"But I suspect that it's from an overall wellbeing perspective that it will turn out worst of all. Because this is what happens when for much more than a mere moment, we let fear of falling sick stop us from being fully alive.

"Now that each one of us has had six months to consider this pandemic, and to make our own judgements about it, surely it's time to relax the rules so that individuals can take more personal responsibility and make more of their own decisions about the risks they're prepared to run."

Mr Abbott said in hindsight, there had not been enough attention paid to keeping coronavirus out of aged care facilities.

But he questioned a strategy that he argued had been adopted by most countries, of preserving "almost every life at almost any cost."

"So far, with Sweden the most notable exception, governments have approached the pandemic like trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists, trained to pose uncomfortable questions about a level of deaths we might have to live with," he said.

"Even if mandatory shutdown [in Australia] really was all that avoided the initially predicted 150,000 deaths, that still works out at about $2 million per life saved.

Mr Abbott argued governments had shifted from trying to flatten the curve to achieving zero community transmission, a move he said had been justified by following the medical advice of "unaccountable experts."

He also said some officials were trapped in "crisis mode" longer than they needed to be, because it boosted their public standing, and accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of wanting to extend a "health dictatorship" by pushing for an extension of state of emergency powers.

"There is absolutely no doubt that we had got to the stage in Australia of virtually zero community transmission, until the extraordinary ineptitude of the Victorian Government in the management of its hotel quarantine system produced what has been the biggest outbreak in Australia so far, responded to with the most severe lockdown tried anywhere in the world outside of Wuhan itself," he added.

Abbott expects Australia's international travel ban to be lifted
Mr Abbott would not comment on reports that he is set to join Britain's Board of Trade.

He said he applied for an exemption to Australia's international travel ban in the "normal way" and that the trip to the UK, and his hotel quarantine on return, would be privately funded.

He also predicted Australia's borders would open gradually over the next few months.

"The Prime Minister today was in the papers saying that all internal border restrictions should be gone at least by Christmas, if not sooner, and I suspect that external border restrictions will be liberated as well," he said.

"But I think we can expect quarantine limitations and quarantine requirements to exist for quite some time to come."

Posted Yesterday, updated 16h
hours

 

[Hypocrite-The]

The main point is
150,000 deaths, that still works out at about $2 million per life saved.
Is the economic destruction worth it?
Tony Abbott says governments need to face 'uncomfortable questions' about economy over lives
Posted 1d

Tony Abbott says the media has spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
Share
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has called for COVID-19 restrictions to be relaxed, arguing officials have become trapped in "crisis mode" and that governments need to consider "uncomfortable questions" about the number of deaths they are prepared to live with.
Key points:

• Mr Abbott said governments approached the pandemic like "trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists"
• He accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of wanting to extend a "health dictatorship" by pushing for an extension of state of emergency powers
• He said the media had spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions

Speaking in London to the UK think tank Policy Exchange, Mr Abbott said the media had spread "virus hysteria" and people should be allowed to make their own decisions.
"From a health perspective, this pandemic has been serious. From an economic perspective, it's been disastrous," he said.
"But I suspect that it's from an overall wellbeing perspective that it will turn out worst of all. Because this is what happens when for much more than a mere moment, we let fear of falling sick stop us from being fully alive.
"Now that each one of us has had six months to consider this pandemic, and to make our own judgements about it, surely it's time to relax the rules so that individuals can take more personal responsibility and make more of their own decisions about the risks they're prepared to run."
Mr Abbott said in hindsight, there had not been enough attention paid to keeping coronavirus out of aged care facilities.
But he questioned a strategy that he argued had been adopted by most countries, of preserving "almost every life at almost any cost."
"So far, with Sweden the most notable exception, governments have approached the pandemic like trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists, trained to pose uncomfortable questions about a level of deaths we might have to live with," he said.
"Even if mandatory shutdown [in Australia] really was all that avoided the initially predicted 150,000 deaths, that still works out at about $2 million per life saved.
Mr Abbott argued governments had shifted from trying to flatten the curve to achieving zero community transmission, a move he said had been justified by following the medical advice of "unaccountable experts."
He also said some officials were trapped in "crisis mode" longer than they needed to be, because it boosted their public standing, and accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of wanting to extend a "health dictatorship" by pushing for an extension of state of emergency powers.
"There is absolutely no doubt that we had got to the stage in Australia of virtually zero community transmission, until the extraordinary ineptitude of the Victorian Government in the management of its hotel quarantine system produced what has been the biggest outbreak in Australia so far, responded to with the most severe lockdown tried anywhere in the world outside of Wuhan itself," he added.
Abbott expects Australia's international travel ban to be lifted
Mr Abbott would not comment on reports that he is set to join Britain's Board of Trade.
He said he applied for an exemption to Australia's international travel ban in the "normal way" and that the trip to the UK, and his hotel quarantine on return, would be privately funded.
He also predicted Australia's borders would open gradually over the next few months.
"The Prime Minister today was in the papers saying that all internal border restrictions should be gone at least by Christmas, if not sooner, and I suspect that external border restrictions will be liberated as well," he said.
"But I think we can expect quarantine limitations and quarantine requirements to exist for quite some time to come."
Posted 1d