Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Employers Association, Alex Frimpong, has said a statement by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), that there have been some 3,000 advertised jobs by employers in the country in the first few months of this year may be deceptive.
According to Mr Frimpong, the over 80,000 businesses in the country are yet to recover from the losses made in 2020 due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Adding businesses, until the impacts of the pandemic on their activities is nearly non-existent, are not ready to either employ new workers or recall workers laid off last year at the height of the pandemic.
“There are close to 80,000 businesses in the country and some businesses might have needed daily hands at the height of the pandemic, so to say that some 3,000 advertised jobs is indicative of employers wanting to employ new workers might be quite deceptive. As we speak now the hospitality industry is on its knees and trying to put things together to recover, so it’s not as simple as that,” he stated.
“Despite the rebound in the economy, I don’t think businesses are yet to recover from the losses made last year, for many of our members, I am not too sure whether immediately they can employ those they have sent home, but until the pandemic is entirely brought under control, I am not sure businesses are going to call back workers that were laid off,” he added.
Mr Frimpong made the above assertion on Joy News’ PM Express, when asked by the show host to share his thoughts on a statement from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) asserting that there had been some 3,000 advertised jobs in newspapers and online in the first few months of this year, supportive of the BoG’s assertion of a rebound in the economy.
According to the BoG, the Ghanaian economy is on a rebound with a sustained momentum in pick-up in economic activity. The Bank’s updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 13.9 percent in January 2021, the highest since December 2019, compared to 3.4 percent in the corresponding period of 2020.
The key drivers of economic activity during the period, the Bank notes, were construction, imports, industrial consumption of electricity, domestic VAT, passenger arrivals at the airport, and port activity.
Results from the Bank’s latest confidence surveys conducted in February 2021 showed some softening of both consumer and business sentiments. The softening of consumer confidence reflected heightened concerns about the potential re-imposition of restrictions following the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the first two months of the year.
Similarly, business sentiments about the general economic situation also deteriorated on concerns that re-imposition of restrictions would further have detrimental consequences on the attainment of their short-term goals.
However, with the commencement of the vaccine roll out and gradual lifting of remaining restrictions, the expectation is for both business and consumer confidence to rebound.
