WASHINGTON DC —
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says it is compiling statistics on the number of companies that have failed to open after the festive season in an effort to get precise figures of Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate.
ZCTU president George Nkiwane said indications are that most companies have not yet opened after the Christmas and New Year holidays due to the country’s current economic hardships.
“We are currently compiling information to find how many companies failed to open after the festive season. Everything is stagnant. We have contacted some of our affiliates who are saying that the situation is bad,” he said.
Nkiwane said the situation is bleak as most workers are expected to lose their jobs this year.
“We expect more companies to shut down in the course of the year and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop that. We will soon see the majority of young people going out of the country to look for jobs,” he said.
The government says Zimbabwe has an unemployment rate of slighlty over 10 percent, a figure that is being disputed by independent organizations.
ZCTU president George Nkiwane said indications are that most companies have not yet opened after the Christmas and New Year holidays due to the country’s current economic hardships.
“We are currently compiling information to find how many companies failed to open after the festive season. Everything is stagnant. We have contacted some of our affiliates who are saying that the situation is bad,” he said.
Nkiwane said the situation is bleak as most workers are expected to lose their jobs this year.
“We expect more companies to shut down in the course of the year and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop that. We will soon see the majority of young people going out of the country to look for jobs,” he said.
The government says Zimbabwe has an unemployment rate of slighlty over 10 percent, a figure that is being disputed by independent organizations.