COVID-19 has disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a global recession as bad as or worse than in 2009. As job losses escalate, the International Labor Organization estimates that nearly half of the global workforce is at risk of losing their livelihoods.
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, one in five countries – home to billions of people living in poverty – were likely to see per capita incomes stagnate or decline in 2020. Now, the economic and financial shocks associated with COVID-19—such as disruptions to industrial production, falling commodity prices, financial market volatility, and rising insecurity—are derailing the already tepid economic growth and compounding heightened risks from other factors.
Facts and Figures:-
- The global unemployment rate in 2017 was 5.6per cent, down from 6.4per cent in 2000.
- Globally, 61per cent of all workers were engaged in informal employment in 2016. Excluding the agricultural sector, 51per cent of all workers fell into this employment category.
- Men earn 12.5per cent more than women in 40 out of 45 countries with data.
- The global gender pay gap stands at 23 per cent globally and without decisive action, it will take another 68 years to achieve equal pay. Women’s labour force participation rate is 63 per cent while that of men is 94 per cent.
- Despite their increasing presence in public life, women continue to do 2.6 times the unpaid care and domestic work that men do.
8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
8.7 Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
8.A Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
8.B By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the average growth of the global economy had already slowed. The pandemic has caused the worst global economic recession since the Great Depression and has had a massive impact on working times and incomes. In 2020, 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost compared to the figure for the fourth quarter of 2019, which is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs and approximately four times greater than the hours lost during the global financial crisis in 2009. Young people and women in the workforce were hit particularly hard by the crisis in the labour market. The global economy is slowly recovering, although activity may remain below pre-pandemic levels for a prolonged period.
Following average growth of about 2 per cent from 2014 to 2018, global real GDP per capita increased by only 1.3 per cent in 2019 and is estimated to have declined by 5.3 per cent in 2020 owing to the pandemic. Global real GDP per capita is projected to increase again by 3.6 per cent in 2021 and 2.6 per cent in 2022.
The real GDP of the least developed countries increased by 4.8 per cent in 2019 and is estimated to have fallen by 1.3 per cent in 2020 because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Before the onset of the pandemic, informal employment accounted for 60.2 per cent of global employment, equivalent to 2 billion people with informal jobs characterized by a lack of basic protection, including social protection coverage. More than three quarters, 1.6 billion informal workers, were significantly affected by the pandemic-related lockdown measures or were working in the sectors hardest hit.
They are at high risk of falling into poverty and will experience greater challenges in regaining their livelihoods during the recovery.
The median gender pay gap in countries and territories with data from around 2017 is close to 12 per cent, indicating that women’s hourly earnings are an average of 12 per cent lower than those of men in half of all countries and territories with data. However, this gender pay gap is an approximate calculation based on average hourly earnings without controlling for sector, occupation, educational level or work experience. In a global study, the International Labour Organization identified a factor-weighted gender pay gap of 19 per cent. In 87 per cent of countries and territories with recent data, professionals earn more than double that of workers in elementary occupations per hour on average.
Global unemployment increased by 33 million in 2020, with the unemployment rate increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 6.5 per cent. However, unemployment figures reflect only a small proportion of the jobs lost as a result of the pandemic. A further 81 million people were not actively seeking employment or were simply unable to find employment owing to the COVID-19-related restrictions. Young people and women were particularly hard hit by the crisis, with employment losses in 2020 of 8.7 and 5 per cent, respectively, compared to 3.7 per cent for all adults and 3.9 per cent for men.
In 2019, more than one in five of the world’s young people were not in employment, education or training, a proportion almost unchanged since 2005. Quarterly figures indicate that the rate increased from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020 in 42 out of 49 countries and territories with data. As young women were already twice as likely as young men not to be in employment, education or training, and as women have been forced into inactivity disproportionately during the pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis is likely to worsen the gender gap among young people not in employment, education or training.
The level of national compliance with the fundamental labour rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining changed little between 2015 and 2018.
Global GDP from tourism increased at a higher rate than the rest of the economy over the decade preceding 2019 to account for 4.1 per cent of global GDP in 2019, compared to 3.7 per cent in 2008. However, as one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, a reversal in this trend is expected for 2020 and the coming years. Globally, international arrivals decreased by 74 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, which represents a loss of $1.3 trillion in inbound tourism expenditure, more than 11 times the loss resulting from the 2009 global crisis. An estimated 100 to 120 million tourism jobs are at risk because of the pandemic, with a disproportionate effect on women. While the tourism sectors of virtually all countries and territories in the world are affected, the small island developing States suffer most acutely.
Globally, the number of automated teller machines per 100,000 adults rose by more than 50 per cent during the past decade, from 45 in 2010 to 69 in 2019. However, there was a slight reversal in the trend for commercial bank branches, with the number of branches in 2019 marginally lower than that recorded in 2010.
In 2019, aid for trade commitments decreased by 6 per cent to $53 billion on the basis of current prices. The sectors most represented were energy (27.9 per cent of total aid for trade), transport and storage (22.6 per cent) and agriculture (17.8 per cent).
In 2020, almost one third of the 107 countries and territories with data had formulated and operationalized a youth employment strategy, while 44 (41.1 per cent) had such strategies but did not provide conclusive evidence of their implementation, and just under one quarter (24.3 per cent) were in the process of developing a strategy.
The pandemic is expected to have a devastating impact on global unemployment. According to estimates from the International Labour Organization, global working hours could drop by 14 per cent in the second quarter of 2020. This is equivalent to approximately 400 million full-time workers doing a 48-hour work week. The eventual increase in global unemployment over 2020 will depend on how effectively policy measures preserve existing jobs and boost labour demand once the recovery phase begins. More than one in six young people have stopped working since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic while those who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 per cent. Tourism is one of the economic sectors most affected by the COVID19 pandemic due to the closure of borders, travel bans and lockdown measures. Depending on when travel restrictions are lifted and national borders reopen, international travel arrivals in 2020 may decrease by 60 to 80 per cent compared with 2019.
Providing youth the best opportunity to transition to a decent job calls for investing in education and training of the highest possible quality, providing youth with skills that match labour market demands, giving them access to social protection and basic services regardless of their contract type, as well as levelling the playing field so that all aspiring youth can attain productive employment regardless of their gender, income level or socio-economic background. Governments can work to build dynamic, sustainable, innovative and people-centred economies, promoting youth employment and women’s economic empowerment, in particular, and decent work for all. Implementing adequate health and safety measures and promoting supportive working environments are fundamental to protecting the safety of workers, especially relevant for health workers and those providing essential services.
Source:- www.un.org