The coronavirus pandemic has been creating a havoc across the world and from the social and political domains of life to the economic, it has left the world grappling with unprecedented challenges. One of the greatest challenges posed before the world by the coronavirus pandemic has been the massive loss in jobs affecting millions of people across the globe and leaving them financially vulnerable and helpless.
The economic blow of the pandemic can be most visibly noted in the Asia-Pacific region. According to a report by the ILO, 81 million jobs have been lost in Asia-Pacific alone. The report tells us that young people are a section of the population which is one of the worst affected and the youth has been dlisproporiatentely impacted. The youth’s loss of employment has ushered a sense of helplessness and financial strains as the months of the pandemic have unfolded and have pushed the financially vulnerable, deeper down into the shackles of poverty.
The labour markets of the Asia-Pacific region have been severely hit amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Growing unemployment and financial strains have been taking a toll on people’s lives and what has added to the crisis is an exceedingly low level of social security and lack of stability among enterprises to sustain workers amid the pandemic or to enable them to stand back on their feet as people gradually begin to return to job markets.
Employment in the Asia-Pacific region saw a dipping down of 4.2% as compared to what it was during the pre-pandemic days, the gap between women and men in terms of unemployment was also quite a significant reminder of the gender-divide in the employment market.
Employment among women saw a dip of 4.6% while that among men saw a dip of 4% according to the report by ILO.
Moreover, the post-pandemic world has introduced lower paid hours of work and thus median incomes are seeing a rapid fall and overall incomes in the region have fallen by 9.9% and have been equivalent to a 3.4% drop in the Gross Domestic Produce according to the ILO.
The majority of jobs in this region have been lost in South Asia, followed by East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The report clearly establishes that the job crisis in the region has been gigantic and millions of workers have been pushed deeper into poverty.
The region’s growing unemployment and financial constraints have been impacting the lives and livelihoods of people and it may take several months before the region can actually bounce back to its normal form.
