NEW DELHI: In a new study, the United Nations International Labour Organisation said that the COVID-19 crisis is continuing to hit jobs hard around the world. The study warned that it could take years for employment levels to reach pre-pandemic levels. In the study, the ILO has revised its previous forecast which had said that the global employment market will make nearly a full recovery from the virus by the end of this year.
The study blamed the impacts of COVID-19 variants and uncertainty around how the pandemic will evolve for its projections. It projected a significant deficit in working hours in 2022 in comparison to pre-COVID-19 times.
Guy Ryder, Chief, ILO, told the reporters that global labour markets are recovering from the crisis much more slowly than it was anticipated. He said that the outlook remains fragile. He added that the world has already started seeing potentially lasting damage to labour markets, along with concerning increases in poverty and inequality.