Macroeconomics

London (CNN) - Is the damage caused by the lockdown worse than the virus itself? That's a question raised by some world leaders and commentators who claim that economic and social hardship caused by strict coronavirus restrictions places a heavier burden on society than the death rate caused by the disease.

The ranks of the jobless swelled from EUR 77,484 at the end of February to 88,648 by the end of April, according to Employment Service figures.

Growth slowed in May, but the jobless total has already exceeded 90,000 and many more are expected to be laid off in the coming months.

Budget revenues in May will not look very good, so fiscal and monetary policies need to be relaxed even more, so that revenues in June are very good, the Minister of Public Finance Florin Citu said on Friday to the private TV broadcaster Digi 24. "In April, in the midst of an overlapping crisis, both economic and health, we managed to collect more to the budget than last year.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) report, entitled "Regional Economic Prospects", says that if a short-term effect of the COVID-19 epidemic is accepted, economies are expected to shrink by an average of 3.5% worldwide this year, compared to 4.8% in 2021, noting that these forecasts are uncertain due to uncertainty with the development of the crisis.

Greece could limit this year's recession to 5-8 percent after taking into account the government's implemented and planned relief measures which will amount to 24 billion euros, the country's Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Wednesday.

He said if support measures had not been taken, the recession could reach 13 percent this year.

Greece's annual EU-harmonised inflation fell to -0.9 percent in April from 0.2 percent in March, statistics service ELSTAT data showed on Friday.

Government lockdown in response to the coronavirus has triggered a slowdown in the country's economic activity and consumer spending. Higher food prices were more than offset by lower prices in housing, transportation and communications.

Consumer prices in Turkey went up 10.94% in April compared to the same month last year, the country's statistical authority announced on May 4. 

April's annual inflation rate was down from 11.86% in March amid coronavirus, Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data showed.

Inflation turned negative in Greece in April, largely because of the collapsing oil prices, the EU statistics agency Eurostat announced Thursday.

The consumer price index dropped 0.9 percent in April, compared to April 2019; in March, inflation was 0.2% and last April, 1.1%.

In a length investigative report published on 21 April TIME magazine has lionised Greek authorities for the country's spectacular success in drastically limiting the spread of coronavirus and keeping the death toll extremely low (116 at the time of writing).

The price index of a small basket in March 2020 compared to February 2020 was 100.0% and the overall increase since the beginning of the year (March 2020 compared to December 2019) has been 101.9%, the NSI said in a press release.