- Coronavirus has made people unemployed.
- Around the world 81% of the world has lost jobs partly or fully.
- Restrictions on daily life have led to the closure of many companies and the laying off of staff – either permanently or temporarily.
A recent news article in BBC highlights the problems of unemployment during this COVID-19 situation. It talks about how the employment has been affected worldwide, decline in working hours, and workers at risk by sector. The inputs given by BBC are based on the sources provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The global impact of unemployment
The International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, has been looking at the global impact with a series of charts. Their work shows the global scale of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Workers and businesses are facing catastrophe, in both developed and developing economies,” said ILO director general Guy Ryder.
“We have to move fast, decisively, and together. The right, urgent, measures, could make the difference between survival and collapse.”
200 million people may end up jobless
- The outbreak is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours across the world during the second quarter of 2020.
- That is the equivalent of 195 million full-time workers losing their jobs.
- The worst-hit region is predicted to be the Arab states, with an 8.1% decline in working hours (five million full-time workers).
The ILO says it is “the most severe crisis“ since World War Two.
Two prominent factors for increase in global unemployment during the course of 2020
- How quickly the world economy recovers in the second half of the year.
- How effectively policy measures will boost the demand for labour.
There is a high risk that the end-of-year worldwide unemployment figure will be much higher than an initial ILO projection of 25 million people.
Accommodation services majorly hit
Various sectors of the growing economy have been deeply affected due to the sudden downturn in work. Mostly, accommodation and food services industries have seen the impact apart from the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and real estate and business.
Together, they account for nearly 38% of the global workforce, with 1.25 billion people employed in these industries around the world.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: BBC
