The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the international labor market

Authors

  • Tetiana Dluhopolska West Ukrainian National University
  • Mariana Khita Nestle Business Service in Europe

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35774/visnyk2022.01.054

Keywords:

labor market, pandemic, labor force, unemployment, employment

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in labor markets around the world. Extraordinary political efforts have been made to overcome the effects of the corona crisis. Governments, together with trade unions, have taken immediate action to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the protection of jobs, including financial support for businesses and households experiencing sharp declines in income.

Purpose. Justify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international labor market.

Methods. The following methods were used in the research process: decomposition – to form the purpose of the research and set tasks; theoretical and methodological – to reveal the theoretical aspects of the international labor market; economic analysis – to study the regional and sectoral aspects of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international labor market; synthesis, comparison, analogy – to study the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for regional labor markets; logical generalization – to identify problems in the functioning of the international labor market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; graphical method – to visualize the results of the study.

Results. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the participation of the population in the labor force, reducing employment in all regions of the world with different income levels, both men and women, as well as increasing unemployment. Empirical analysis has shown that the greatest decline in employment among both men and women is observed in countries with incomes below and above average. In 2020, compared to 2019, the total working time in the world decreased by about 8.8 %, which is equivalent to the full-time work of 255 million employees. The loss of working time was particularly severe in Latin America and the Caribbean (16.2 %), Southern Europe and South Asia, and the total loss of working time in North and South America was 13.7 %. Overall, the COVID-19 crisis affected global working hours by about four times more than the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. The decline in employment was highest in the United States and lowest in Europe and Central Asia, where working hours were offset by job retention schemes. Many people have become inactive in the labor market because they did not see the opportunity to find a job successfully or simply could not search for it due to quarantine restrictions caused by the spread of the global pandemic. It should be noted that in high-income countries the unemployment rate in the period 2019-2020 (2.0 %) was very close to that observed in the period 2008-2009 (2.1 %). The female part of the working population suffered more from the decline in employment than the male. Young workers in all regions and groups of countries were particularly affected by the 2020 crisis, which led to a reduction in their employment by 8.7% compared to 3.7% among adults.

Discussion. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit businesses and the informal economy hardest. Most informal enterprises are characterized by low productivity, low savings and investment, and scarce capital accumulation, which makes them particularly vulnerable to financial and economic shocks. Most workers could not afford to stop working because it would mean that they would not be able to meet their basic needs (such as food). Where markets and trading floors were closed during a harsh lockdown or curfew, the incomes of many informal workers, especially street vendors, disappeared instantly, putting them at risk of access to food. Informal homeworkers who produce goods or services for local, national or global supply systems have lost commercial orders from customer companies and in many cases have not been able to get paid for previously executed orders. Refugees and migrant workers have also been particularly affected by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are mainly concentrated in sectors with high levels of temporary, informal or unprotected employment, characterized by low wages and lack of social protection. For many migrants, losing their job not only directly affects their own income, but also reduces their remittances. The post-pandemic period will be a time of building the future by creating new jobs, but this will only happen if effective labor market policies are implemented at both the national and global levels.

Author Biographies

  • Tetiana Dluhopolska, West Ukrainian National University
    PhD (Economics), Associate Professor,Associate Professor of the International Economic Relations Department
  • Mariana Khita, Nestle Business Service in Europe
    Junior Accountant, Accounting and Reporting Department

References

Nazarova, G. V. (2019). Labor economics: a textbook. Kharkiv: KhNEU named after

S. Kuznets. 330 p. [in Ukraine].

Babenko, A. G. (2011). Labor economics and social-labor relations: a guide for students of higher educational institutions. Dnipropetrovsk: Dnipropetrovsk State Financial Academy. 268 p. [in Ukraine].

Skvortsov, I. B., Voytsehovska, V. V., Zagoretska, O. Y. (2016). Labor economics and social and labor relations: textbook. Lviv: Lviv Polytechnic Publishing House. 265 p. [in Ukraine].

Shapovalov, V. V. (2016). Theoretical study of labor market categories. Economy and society, 5, 122-125 [in Ukraine].

Akulov, V. G. (2012). Labor economics and social-labor relations: a textbook. Kyiv: Knowledge. 390 p. [in Ukraine].

Fedunchyk, L. G. (2016). Labor market in Ukraine: problems and solutions. Labor market and employment, 2, 31-34 [in Ukraine].

Friedrich, B. COVID has accelerated these 4 labor market trends. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Retrieved from: https://insight.kellogg. northwestern.edu/article/labor-market-pandemic-trends [in English].

McKibbin, W. J., Roshen, F. (2020). The global macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19: seven scenarios. CAMA Working Paper, Vol. 19. Retrieved from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID3547729_code1532085.pdf?abstracti d=3547729&mirid=1&type=2 [in English].

Kiziloglu M., Dluhopolskyi O., Koziuk V., Kozlovskyi S., Vitvitskyi S. (2021). Dark personality traits and job performance of employees: the mediating role of perfectionism, stress, and social media addiction. Problems and Perspectives in Management, Vol. 19 (3), 533-544 [in English].

Zhukovska A., Dluhopolskyi O., Zheliuk T., Shushpanov D., Brechko O., Kryvokulska N., Horiachk K. (2021). “Silver economy”: analysis of world trends and forecast for Ukraine. Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences, 24 (7), 1-12 [in English].

Kozlovskyi S., Bilenko D., Dluhopolskyi O., Vitvitskyi S., Bondarenko O., Korniichuk O. (2021). Determinants of COVID-19 death rate in Europe: empirical analysis. Problemy Ekorozwoju / Problems of Sustainable Development, 16 (1), 17-28 [in English].

Dluhopolskyi, O., Zatonatska, T., Lvova, I., Klapkiv, Y. (2019). Regulations for returning labour migrants to Ukraine: international background and national limitations. Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe, 22 (3), 45-64 [in English].

Official site of the International Labor Organization. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo. org [in English].

ILO monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Retrieved from: https://www. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/briefingnote/ wcms_767028.pdf [in English].

World economic situation аnd prospects (2021). Briefing, Vol.155, United Nations. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad [in English].

ILOSTAT data tools to find and download labour statistics. Retrieved from: https:// ilostat.ilo.org/data [in English].

World Employment and Social Outlook. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5 [in English].

Nebolsyna, E. V. (2020). The US unemployment insurance system during the coronavirus pandemic. Insurance law, 2 (87), 3-12 [in Russian].

Nikitina, N. A. (2020). Changes in labor markets during the pandemic. Social and economic systems, 3, 125-136 [in Russian].

Aranzhyn, V. V. (2019). Global trends and employment trends. Labor economics. Issue 6, № 4, 1353-1372 [in Russian].

The world of work and COVID-19: Policy Brief. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/ sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_world_of_work_and_covid_19_russian.pdf [in Russian].

Kostrytsa, V. I., Burlay, T. V. (2020). Employment imbalances and divergence: EU and Ukraine approaches to overcoming them. Ukr. socìum, 1 (72), 98-100 [in Ukraine].

Dluhopolska Т. І., Hita М. Y. (2021). Current trends in the international labor market in the global pandemic COVID-19. Innovative processes of economic and socio- cultural development: domestic and foreign experience: Abstracts of the XIV International Scientific and Practical Conference of Young Scientists and Students (April 14-15, 2021). Ternopil: WUNU, 58-60 [in Ukraine].

Dluhopolska, Т. І., Hita, М. Y. (2021). International Labor Organization as a tool for regulating the world and national labor market. Modern aspects of the development of international economic relations and the world economy: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference (November 12-13, 2021). Uzhhorod: Helvetica, 31-33 [in Ukraine].

Dluhopolska, Т. І. (2020). International migration policy: from theories to implementatons. Bulletin of Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin. Series: International Relations. Economy. Geography. Tourism, № 12, 31-49 [in Ukraine].

Published

2022-06-01

How to Cite

Dluhopolska, Tetiana, and Mariana Khita. “The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the International Labor Market”. Herald of Economics, no. 1, June 2022, pp. 54-70, https://doi.org/10.35774/visnyk2022.01.054.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 171

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.