59 million jobs in Europe at risk from coronavirus crisis

Up to 59 million jobs in Europe are at risk due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the European Union, Report says, citing Financial Times.

According to McKinsey and Company, the current situation may affect more than a quarter of all employed in the EU private sector.

Analysts estimate that the most significant impact will be in the catering sector, as well as the housing and hotel sector, which includes 74% of the jobs at risk.

Under McKinsey’s pessimistic scenario, in which severe social distancing restrictions are maintained through the summer to contain the spread of the virus, EU unemployment could double to 11.2 percent by next year. It would be unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels until 2024.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities announced an outbreak of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan. The causative agent of the disease is a new type of coronavirus, which officially named COVID-19.

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus a pandemic.