Covid impact on work four times worse than 2008 economic crisis: ILO

Published June 8, 2021
The United Nations said on Monday that the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the world of work was four times worse than the 2008 economic crisis. — Reuters/File
The United Nations said on Monday that the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the world of work was four times worse than the 2008 economic crisis. — Reuters/File

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Monday that the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the world of work was four times worse than the 2008 economic crisis.

The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the pandemic had had a “devastating” and even “cataclysmic” effect, as it sought to tackle an uneven recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The ILO on Monday kicked off its annual International Labour Conference (ILC), being held virtually for the first time, and this year focused on fostering a “human-centred” recovery from the pandemic.

“The working experience of this pandemic for some has been of inconvenience, tedium, stress, and frustration. For others it has been about fear, poverty, and survival,” ILO director-general Guy Ryder said as he opened the conference plenary.

The crisis has pushed more than 100 million more workers into poverty, the ILO said in its annual World Employment and Social Outlook report ahead of the conference.

It said working hours plummeted and access to good-quality jobs had evaporated.

The report showed that global unemployment could affect 205m people in 2022 — far higher than the 187m in 2019.

Employment was not expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 at the earliest, it said.

“Taken as a whole, this represents a world of work crisis four times as severe as the one triggered by the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009,” said Ryder.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...
Cholistan project
Updated 18 Feb, 2025

Cholistan project

GPI goals align with Pakistan's broader economic aims but the manner in which the initiative was launched raises questions.
Right to know
18 Feb, 2025

Right to know

IT is an unfortunate paradox that while on paper Pakistan has some of the most impressive right to information laws,...
Dam dispute
18 Feb, 2025

Dam dispute

THE situation in Chilas needs attention and a fair-minded approach so that it can be resolved amicably. Diamer ...