THE economic prospects of the Cordillera Administrative Region are looking bleak, with projected losses expected to further affect the already badly hit economy of the region.
According to National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Assistant Director Stephanie Christiansen, the projections made in 2019 saw that the CAR would see a 4.3 percent growth in its economy.
However, following the pandemic, 2020 instead saw a 4.8 percent decrease worth 15.6 billion pesos.
Christiansen says that there are currently no exact figures of the losses, but that a large factor in the losses is that the services sector, which includes tourism, accommodation, and food among other trades, is a large portion of the region’s economy and has been hit badly.
She also said that the region can expect further losses as the lockdowns continue.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate of 2.8 percent with 21,244 more or less unemployed in the region has ballooned to 25.3 percent, or 174,214 people seeking employment.
Additionally, while there were no specific figures provided, Christiansen said that underemployment in the region has also increased.
However, while CAR in terms of employment rate has declined, Christiansen said that the region is performing better than the nationwide average in the pandemic.
