Covid-19 has destroyed hundreds of millions of jobs around the world, says ILO

A woman outside an Illinois employment agency in Arlington Heights (illustrative image).

© AP / Nam Y. Huh

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The pandemic has already destroyed 255 million full-time jobs, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The ILO still sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

But she warns that the recovery could further widen inequalities if not done right.

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With our correspondent in Geneva,

Jérémie Lanche

Hours worked fell almost 9% in 2020 worldwide.

This is four times more than during the crisis of 2009. This includes all the hours lost with store closings, declines in activity and

partial unemployment

.

The ILO is concerned about the large number of people who have even left the labor market, especially those who can no longer seek employment because of restrictive measures imposed everywhere.

Guy Rider, ILO Director, explains why this could be a big loss for the labor market: “

 In 71% of cases, that is to say for 81 million people, these losses employment resulted in inactivity.

Either these people can no longer work, or they have personal obligations, or they have simply given up on their job search.

So all their talents, their skills, their energy, all that is lost 

”.

In all, labor income fell by $ 3.7 trillion in 2020. That's the equivalent of the GDP of a country like Germany.

The end of the tunnel ... under certain conditions

The ILO, however, sees signs of a recovery.

With growth that could affect most countries, from the second half of 2021 ... on condition of

having enough vaccines

.

And on the condition of not leaving the most affected categories on the side of the road.

This is the case for young people and women, who have lost their jobs more than the average worker.

►Also read: Covid-19: migrant workers, first affected in Southeast Asia

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  • Employment and Work

  • Coronavirus

  • Economic crisis

  • Health and medicine