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At the end of June, the number of working hours worldwide had fallen by 17.3%, compared to the situation in December.
This corresponds to nearly 500 million full-time positions, writes the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a report.
The report, which was released on Wednesday, thus paints an even bleaker picture than the previous ILO report in June, when it was stated that a loss of 14 percent was expected.
– The impact has been catastrophic, says ILO leader Guy Ryder.
94 percent of the world’s employees are subject to work restrictions that still remain, says department head Sangheon Lee at the ILO. The situation could get even worse, he believes.
– If a new wave of infections leads to tighter restrictions and new closures, the impact on the job market will be comparable to the degree we saw in the second quarter of the year, he says.
Ryder cautions politicians not to focus more on the economy than health when implementing measures against the pandemic.
“It is quite clear that the ability and speed of the global economy to recover from the recession in the labor market is ultimately linked to our ability to control the pandemic,” Ryder said.
The ILO report also shows that the labor market situation would have been even worse had it not been for the rescue packages from different countries. The loss could have been 28 percent in the second quarter.
