United Nations, Labor Market, and Main Findings

The International Labor Organization (ILO) released an important report. As a reminder, the International Labor Organization is part of the United Nations. According to the report, the coronavirus pandemic erased 8.8% of global working hours, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, causing a crisis of unprecedented inequality. This is not the end of the story, as it has the potential to create serious problems for women, young workers, and low-skilled employees.

Based on the information taken from the report, global labour income declined by an estimated $3.7 trillion in 2020. This is equivalent to, 4.4% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) of 2019. This information stated above once more underlines the severity of the problem.

The report prepared by the International Labor Organization about COVID-19 and the word of work contains many interesting details. For example, the organization estimates that the global decline in unemployment was around 114 million in 2020 in comparison to 2019.

Moreover, it underlines that millions of more people suffered an important cut in their working hours, causing a crisis of income. Millions of people around the world are still technically under employment. However, their working hours have been curtailed so severely that they struggle to cope with financial problems. Unfortunately, people in the Americas, Europe, and Central Asia are likely to suffer bigger losses than in other regions.

Labour market and coronavirus pandemic

As stated above the labour market suffered tremendous losses in 2020. However, women, young people, as well as low-skilled workers are finding themselves in a, particularly tough spot. Importantly, the ILO found that these groups are at the highest risk of long-term economic hardship, dragged out periods of unemployment, and even being shut out of the labour market altogether.

For instance, job losses for young people in 2020 hit 8.7% compared to 3.7% for adults. Interestingly, the ILO found that no matter the region, women are more likely than men to leave the labour force.

It is worth mentioning that, even before the coronavirus pandemic, it was quite hard for young people to find a job. However, the pandemic created additional challenges for young people. Moreover, women and young people are also likelier than other groups to work in the service sectors. It is no secret that hotels, restaurants, and others are struggling to cope with problems that the lockdowns are creating. Governments around the world should take measures to boost the labour market.