Figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) economic activity report show that economic activity grew in July 2020 even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the remuneration index (which includes wages) fell.
Mozambique recorded a 5% increase in turnover in July thanks to growth in the accommodation, catering and similar sectors (19.8%), the extractive and manufacturing industry and electrical power (15.2%), wholesale and retail trade (9.6%), maintenance and repair of automobiles (1.6%) and other non-financial services (0.7%).
Industrial sector growth was influenced by the extraction of coal, the sugar sector, tobacco industries, metal structures and dairy.
However, the news was not all positive. There was a 4.2% drop in turnover in the transport and storage sector, and also in the remuneration index, which continued a seven-month downward trend with the wages index falling by 5.6% against the previous month.
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“The worsening of the general remuneration index, which is registered for the seventh consecutive month, was the result of declines in the sectors of transport and storage (-10.2%), industry (-9.3%), accommodation, restaurants and similar (-3.9%) and other non-financial services (-0.8%), a trend that was only contradicted by the trade sector, which appreciated 2% compared to the previous month,“ the INE document reveals.
Employment grew by 0.4%, which INE in its report describes as a “slight recovery”. The commerce and other non-financial services sectors grew most in the period under analysis, by 2.7% and 2.3% respectively.
“Comparing the global indexes for July 2020 with those for the same month in 2019, the turnover, employment and remuneration indexes decreased by -2.1%, -9.3% and -10.4% respectively, reflecting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on most of the country’s business sector,” the summary concludes.
By Velsoma Cumbana
- Read the full INE economic activities report, in Portuguese HERE
Source: O País via Club of Mozambique