Lithuania’s statistics office has presented the preliminary damage assessment from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the 2020 figures, the country's GDP has shrunk, interrupting the hitherto continuous growth of the economy.
“Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the continuous economic growth of the country observed for a number of years has come to an end,” Jūratė Petrauskienė, head of Statistics Lithuania, told reporters.
Lithuania’s GDP amounted to 48.7 billion at current prices, according to 2020 preliminary data presented by the statistics office. Compared to 2019, the GDP decreased by 1.3 percent.
The change was mainly driven by the poor performance of accommodation and catering sectors, as well as transport and storage firms, according to Statistics Lithuania.
“The results of accommodation, catering, transport and storage companies made the biggest negative impact on economic growth. However, it was balanced by the stable growth in industry, energy and information sectors,” said Petrauskienė.
According to 2020 preliminary data presented by Statistics Lithuania:
– Prices of goods fell by 1,3%, but service prices went up by 3.9%
– Lithuania recorded 0.2% inflation
– Exports decreased by 3.1%, imports by 9.4%
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Despite the overall drop, the final results exceeded the most optimistic forecasts, according to Nerijus Mačiulis, Swedbank's chief economist.
“The economic downturn is very modest. Taking into account the impact of seasonality and working day adjustments, the contraction of the GDP did not reach 1 percent. Although we do not yet have data from all EU countries, it seems that Lithuania will be the one that stood out during this crisis, as having experienced the slightest economic downturn,” Mačiulis said.
Last year the number of unemployed people increased by 35.4 percent, but the salaries grew in almost all economic sectors. According to Statistics Lithuania:
– The average monthly salary after tax was €908.9, an increase of 10.6% since 2019.
– The average monthly salary before tax amounted to €1,421.2, an increase of 9.6% since 2019.
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Workers in the IT sector received the highest gross wages (€2,571), followed by the employees of financial and insurance companies (€2,479) and workers at companies supplying gas, steam and air conditioning ( €1,763).
Yet some sectors have experienced a sharp downturn, according to economist Romas Lazutka.
“We certainly see this is in the service and entertainment sectors. In some households, the situation is very bad, and it is important that fiscal policy responds appropriately to people who have lost their jobs or fallen into poverty,” Lazutka said.
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