According to the International Labour Organisation, the latest dire assessment reflects the full or partial lockdown measures affecting almost 2.7 billion workers – four in five of the world’s workforce. The new assessment comes almost three weeks after the Organization predicted that 25 million jobs were threatened by the new coronavirus. Overall, for the second quarter of 2020 – from April to June, ILO believes that working hours are likely to decline by 6.7 per cent.
The rapidly intensifying economic effects of COVID-19 on the world of work are proving to be far worse than the 2008-9 financial crisis, with cutbacks equivalent to nearly 200 million full-time workers expected in the next three months.
According to the International Labour Organisation, the latest dire assessment reflects the full or partial lockdown measures affecting almost 2.7 billion workers – four in five of the world’s workforce. The new assessment comes almost three weeks after the Organization predicted that 25 million jobs were threatened by the new coronavirus. Overall, for the second quarter of 2020 – from April to June, ILO believes that working hours are likely to decline by 6.7 per cent.
Workers in four sectors that have experienced the most drastic effects of the disease and falling production are food and accommodation, retail and wholesale, business services and administration, and manufacturing. Together, they add up to 37.5 per cent of global employment and this is where the “sharp-end” of the impact of the pandemic is being felt now, the ILO chief added.
Speaking via videoconference from Geneva, the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder noted that at the start of the year – before COVID-19 spread worldwide – global unemployment already stood at around 190 million. He added that with the additional shock of the virus, it was obvious that the world of work is suffering an absolutely extraordinary fall because of the effects of the pandemic and the measures taken to deal with it.
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Although all regions of the world are suffering from the fallout of COVID-19, the Arab States and Europe have seen the worst impact on employment in percentage terms. The biggest losses numerically are in the Asia-Pacific States, the most populous region of the world.
He said that policy responses urgently needed to focus on providing immediate relief to workers and enterprises in order to protect livelihoods and economically viable businesses, particularly in hard-hit sectors and developing countries.
ILO added that although the economic impact has not yet been felt in agriculture, the largest sector in most of developing countries, risks of food insecurity are now emerging owing to containment measures, including border closures.
