Desk Report
Publish: 17 Jan 2022, 09:56 pm
International Labour Organisation || Photo: Collected
The global job market will take longer to recover than
previously thought, with unemployment set to remain above pre-Covid-19 levels
until at least 2023 due to uncertainty about the pandemic's course and
duration, the International Labour Organisation said in a report on Monday.
The UN agency estimates the equivalent of around 52 million
fewer jobs in 2022 versus pre-Covid levels, which amounts to about double its
previous estimate from June 2021, reports the media.
Disruptions are set to continue into 2023 when there will
still be around 27 million fewer jobs, it said, warning of a "slow and
uncertain" recovery in its World Employment and Social Outlook report for
2022.
"The global labour market outlook has deteriorated
since the ILO's last projections; a return to pre-pandemic performance is
likely to remain elusive for much of the world over the coming years," the
report said.
Director-General Guy Ryder told journalists that there were
numerous factors behind its revision, saying the "primary one is the
continuing pandemic and its variants, notably Omicron."
The speed of recovery varies across regions, with the
European and North American regions showing the most encouraging signs and
Southeast Asia and South America lagging behind, according to the report.
Still, the projected deficit in working hours this year
represents an improvement over the past two years. In 2021, the ILO estimates
there were some 125 million fewer jobs than pre-pandemic levels and in 2020,
258 million fewer.
Overall, around 207 million people are estimated to be
unemployed in 2022. However, the report said that the impact would be
significantly greater since many people have left the labour force and have yet
to return.
Among those are a high number of women, often because they
have been drawn into unpaid work at home such as teaching children during
school closures or caring for sick family members.
The report predicted that the disproportionate impact of the
pandemic on women's employment would narrow in the coming years but that a
"sizeable gap" would remain.
"There are some anecdotal indications that they are not
coming back in the same numbers and in the same portions as men are doing which
would lead to concerns that a 'Long Covid' effect on gender at work would be a
negative one," said Ryder.
Others who have left the workforce have done so voluntarily
as part of a phenomenon some economists call "the great resignation".
Ryder said this appeared to be more prominent in areas of the economy such as
health and caregiving.
"We do need to look again and to invest further in
those areas of economic activity," he said.
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Topic : Global job market Omicron
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