WTO: Economic Recession Due to COVID-19 Worse Than in 2008

World Trade Organization (WTO) projections show that the impact of the new coronavirus on the economy and employment will be worse than seen during the 2008 recession, its director-general said Wednesday.

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"Recent projections predict an economic recession and worse job losses than seen in the global financial crisis of 12 years ago," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a video message posted on the agency's website based in Geneva.

Azevedo added that no concrete forecasts are yet available, but he stressed that the entity’s economists expect "a sharp drop in trade."

WTO joins organizations such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) that already warned last week about the economic crisis and unemployment that could be triggered by the impact of the COVID-19 throughout the world, mainly in poor countries such as Latin America and Africa.

For its part, the ILO said that the coronavirus pandemic could destroy up to 25 million jobs around the world if governments do not act fast to shield workers from the impact.

Meanwhile, a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) said last week that unemployment claims filed by U.S. workers increased as never before in history in the country as hundreds of people continue to lose their jobs given the crisis generated by COVID-19.