The employment crisis is "much more serious" than that of 2008, according to the OECD

The OECD is sounding the alarm. The job crisis is "much more serious" than that of 2008, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which calls for "urgent action" so that it does not turn into "a general social crisis" .

"In the most optimistic scenario of the evolution of the pandemic, the unemployment rate in all OECD countries could reach 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020, exceeding all the peaks recorded since the Great Depression", anticipates the OECD in the 2020 edition of its report "employment prospects" published Tuesday July 7.

The total number of hours worked collapsed, decreasing ten times faster in the first three months of the current crisis than in the first three months of the 2008 crisis.

For France, the OECD forecasts an unemployment rate of 12.3% at the end of 2020, and even 13.7% in the event of a second epidemic wave.

Women and the most vulnerable at risk

People with low incomes are the hardest hit. "Women are hit harder than men, many working in the hardest hit sectors and holding a disproportionate percentage of precarious jobs. The self-employed and those on temporary or part-time contracts are particularly vulnerable to loss of employment and income, "said the organization.

As for young people who leave school or university, "they will find it difficult to find work and face a lasting deterioration in their income prospects," warns the organization.

Insofar as the prospects of finding a job quickly "will remain poor for many, some countries should extend the duration of unemployment benefits", suggests the OECD.

In the medium term, countries "should fill the structural gaps in the social protection systems that the crisis has highlighted. This will include increasing income assistance for all workers, including the self-employed, workers part-time and other atypical workers. "

With AFP

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