Angola loses 60,000 jobs in the past one year

Angola has lost some 60,000 jobs in the past 12 months due to the economic crisis triggered by the falling international oil prices, according to the latest statistics by the Angolan Industrial Association.

Most of the job losses occured in the civil engineering and oil sectors with state revenues reduced by half from June 2015 to May 2016, said Jose Severino, chairman of the Angolan Industrial Association in an interview with foreign journalists.

The business leader believed the Angolan economy would improve as international oil prices bounced back.

"Oil prices are rising and the economy will be running in a new macro-environment," Jose Severino said.

He said the International Monetary Fund was also expected to provide economic assistances to Angola to raise its credit ranking and improve the financial conditions of the African country.

The inflation rate, which officially stood at 26 percent in the past 12 months, would help Angola to export more of its oil, diamonds, farming products and construction materials.

However, the country needed to re-establish a stable supply of foreign currencies to buy raw materials and equipments for the industrial sector, the chairman said.

He called on the Angolan government to put in place stricter control and management over the shrinking foreign currency reserves and to re-establish a direct link between commercial banks and enterprises to channel more foreign currencies to the industrial sector. Enditem