ILO report on Global unemployment
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)
The International Labour Organisation has projected global unemployment at 207 million in 2022, almost 21 million more than 2019 while the total hours worked in 2022 to be almost 2% below their pre-pandemic level or a deficit of 52 million full-time equivalent jobs.
What
- This outlook represents a substantial deterioration since the projections made in June 2021 when the shortfall in working hours relative to the fourth quarter of 2019 was projected to narrow to less than 1% in 2022, the ILO said in its latest report on World Employment and Social Outlook, released on 17 January 2022.
- Every new outbreak brings setbacks. Many gains in decent work made before the pandemic have been significantly impacted upon, and pre-existing decent work deficits are dampening the prospects of a sustainable recovery in many regions.
- According to the ILO, since the onset of the recovery, employment growth trends in low- and middle-income countries have remained significantly below those observed in richer economies, owing largely to the lower vaccination rates and tighter fiscal space in developing countries.
- The impact has been particularly serious for developing nations that experienced higher levels of inequality, more divergent working conditions and weaker social protection systems even before the pandemic.
- For all regions, projections to 2023 suggest that a full recovery will remain elusive. All regions face severe downside risks to their labour market recovery that stem from the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
- The pandemic is structurally altering the labour markets in such ways that a return to pre-crisis baselines may well be insufficient to make up for the damage caused by the pandemic.
