OVER $3.5 trillion worth of labor income worldwide was lost in the first nine months of the year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
“The biggest drop was in lower-middle income countries, where the labor income losses reached 15.1 percent, with the Americas the hardest hit region at 12.1 percent,” ILO said in the sixth edition of its ILO Monitor: Covid-19 and the World of Work report.
ILO said its projections for global working hour losses in the third quarter also worsened. It estimated 345 million full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were lost in the first three quarters of 2020.
Another 245 million FTE jobs are expected to be lost before the end of 2020 as emerging economies turned out to be more heavily affected by the pandemic than what ILO initially anticipated.
“This is an increase from the ILO’s previous estimate of 4.9 percent or 140 million FTE jobs,” ILO said.
This, it added, could be attributed to the existing restricted business operations in Covid-impacted nations.
Fiscal stimulus
ILO urged Covid-19 affected countries to implement the necessary “fiscal stimulus” to counter the effects of the pandemic to their workforce.
“Just as we need to redouble our efforts to beat the virus, so we need to act urgently and at scale to overcome its economic, social and employment impacts. That includes sustaining support for jobs, businesses and incomes,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said.
ILO pointed to a clear correlation indicating that the larger the fiscal stimulus (as a percentage of GDP), the lower the working-hour losses.
In the Philippines, the government launched its fiscal stimulus to provide assistance to those affected by Covid-19 under the P275-billion Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Bayanihan 1), which took effect from March to June.
The government recently passed the P165-billion Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2), providing additional aid to those affected by the pandemic, including the estimated 4.6 million who lost their jobs as of July.
The interventions include providing cash aid and emergency employment to qualified beneficiaries.
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