COVID has resulted in loss of over 22 million jobs across OECD countries
over 22 million jobs have been recorded to be lost across the advanced economies due to the COVID-19 pandemic
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, over 22 million jobs have been recorded to be lost across the advanced economies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The OECD’s yearly employment outlook stated the fact that job retention schemes were rolled out during the peaks of COVDI-19 crisis which had saved over 21 million jobs. Still, some developed nations are facing the threat of rising long-term unemployment rates as many low-skilled workers have been displaced by the pandemic in struggle to find a new job.
It is expected that majority of the jobs lost amid the pandemic may never be recovered. In May this year, the unemployment rate among OECD countries reduced to about 6.6%, however it’d still remain over 1% greater than the pre-pandemic levels. Out of the 22 million jobs that have been lost and the people who remain out of work across the OECD, 8 million are still unemployed and the other 14 million are now considered to be inactive. The OECD stated that it doesn’t expect overall employment rates across member countries to recover and return to pre-pandemic levels until the third quarter of 2023. However, individual countries those in the Asia-Pacific have demonstrated a better handle on the crisis, which may register improvement to be better than others.
The impact of sustained underemployment is expected to exacerbate the effects felt by the vulnerable people, women and low-skilled workers, who are not appropriately represented across sectors that are hit hard by the pandemic. Young people are more likely to be adversely impacted instead of the wider adult working population. The scars and the problems arise due to the pandemic may leave a long lasting impact for the young people in terms of wages and employment.
