Labour market devastation after shaken health sector

NEW DELHI: UN on September 23 said, “with hundreds of millions of jobs lost and workers suffering a massive drop in earning,” the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a greater toll on jobs than it was feared. In a fresh study by International Labour Organisation (ILO), it has been found that the global working hours had declined by 17.3 percent, equivalent to nearly 500 million full-time jobs by the middle of this year.

ILO chief Guy Ryder said, “The impact has been catastrophic” as the global income has shrunk by 10.7 percent during the first nine months of the year. In an attempt to face the health challenges amid the global pandemic, lockdowns, travel restrictions, and other measures taken to control the virus spread have had a devastating impact on jobs and income across the world.

The ILO pointed out that workers in developing economies and those in the informal sector had been more affected as compared to past crises. Sangheon Lee, Head, Employment Policy Division, ILO has warned that the situation for workers could worsen. Ryder added, “It is very clear that the capacity and the speed with which the global economy can get out of its labour market slump is intimately linked to our capacity to control the pandemic.”