If the State of Emergency Continues, Unemployment in the Food Service Sector Will Reach 40%, Expert Says

Currently, 20 percent of the food service sector is unemployed, and the restaurant organization sector is entirely out of work. This was stated today, July 12, in an interview with NEWS.am by restaurateur and food service expert Ashot Barseghyan, who discussed the damages the sector has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The restaurant organization sector is fully inactive at this time; these are the people who participated in the protest outside the Government building on July 9. If the state of emergency continues and this situation persists, unemployment in the food service sector will reach 40 percent. This is my assessment as an expert on the situation," he said.

According to the restaurateur, the closed businesses currently represent 20 percent of the sector. "Closed businesses fall into two categories: those that have shut down permanently and those that have closed with the intention of reopening. We can provide a final assessment only after the state of emergency ends," he added.

He mentioned that discussions are still ongoing regarding organizing a new protest action. For more details, see the original source.