January 26, 2021

Anna Murray 

UN agency, the International Labor Organization (ILO), announced on January 25 its observation on the global labor market. In comparison with 2019, ILO stated equivalent to more than 255 million full-time people lost their jobs in 2020.

As well perceived, ILO reported about 8.8% of global working hours was lost in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was almost 4 times the job losses during the 2009 global financial crisis. ILO considered the 2020 record of a severe downturn in the global labor market was even worse than that of the US Great Depression of the 1930s. ILO confirmed that the corona virus crisis has resulted in huge job losses, especially for women and young people, along with the low-paid and low-skilled workers.

ILO data showed business sectors like accommodation, food services, manufacturing, and retail have been pandemic fallout on workers most. However, the financial sectors and the information technology sectors have performed well and continued to grow despite the corona virus crisis.

According to the ILO's report, there is still a high degree of uncertainty and seems fragile recovery seen in the global labor market. Nevertheless, as vaccination programs are expected to take effect worldwide, ILO predicts that economic recovery in most countries will bounce back strongly in the second half of 2021.

Photo:Webshot.