The International Labour Organisation (ILO) yesterday raised the alarm that continued sharp decline in working hours globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak means that 1.6 billion workers in the informal sector stand the risk of losing their means of livelihoods.
According to the ILO Monitor, third edition: COVID-19 and the World of Work , the drop in working hours in the current (second) quarter of 2020 is expected to be significantly worse than previously estimated.
The latest ILO data on the labour market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the devastating effect on workers in the informal economy and on hundreds of millions of enterprises worldwide. Compared to pre-crisis levels (Q4 2019), a 10.5 per cent deterioration is now expected, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs (assuming a 48-hour working week). The previous estimate was for a 6.7 per cent drop, equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.
The global body said this is due to the prolongation and extension of lockdown measures.
Regionally, ILO said the situation has worsened for all major regional groups. Estimates suggest a 12.4 per cent loss of working hours in Q2 for the Americas (compared to pre-crisis levels) and 11.8 per cent for Europe and Central Asia. The estimates for the rest of the regional groups follow closely and are all above 9.5 per cent.
The ILO maintained that as a result of the economic crisis created by the pandemic, almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers (representing the most vulnerable in the labour market), out of a worldwide total of two billion and a global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living.
“This is due to lockdown measures and/or because they work in the hardest-hit sectors,” it stated.
The first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of informal workers globally, which it noted translates into a drop of 81 per cent in Africa and the Americas, 21.6 percent in Asia and the Pacific, and 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia.
It explained that without alternative income sources, these workers and their families will have no means to survive.
The proportion of workers living in countries under recommended or required workplace closures has decreased from 81 to 68 percent over the last two weeks. The decline from the previous estimate of 81 per cent in the second edition of the monitor (published April 7) is primarily a result of changes in China; elsewhere workplace closure measures have increased.
Worldwide, ILO said more than 436 million enterprises face high risks of serious disruption, saying that these enterprises are operating in the hardest-hit economic sectors, including some 232 million in wholesale and retail, 111 million in manufacturing, 51 million in accommodation and food services, and 42 million in real estate and other business activities.
