Leading Moldovan economist says local economy is "very close to catastrophic"

Imedia spoke with Veaceslav Ionita, a well-known Moldovan economist and Liberal Democratic Party M.P. in the new Parliament. Please find a passage below (full interview is available via our subcription service):

"The situation is very close to catastrophic. The branches that had been developing in the last few years have now completely collapsed. Construction is dead, and neither homes nor industrial spaces are being sold. Transportation cannot recover from the shock. A few thousand trucks are stationary, and railroad transportation volumes have plummeted at a unimaginable rate, by at least seven times. Finally, retail sales are also down.

Most recently, 50,000 out of Moldova's 600,000 employees are unofficially unemployed. They are either on vacation or work fewer hours in the day. I would not be suprised if the unemployment rate creeps up to 100,000 people by the end of this year."