World lost 11.2 crore jobs in the first quarter of 2022 says ILO

The COVID-19 crisis had already complicated global efforts to reduce famine and food insecurity leading many governments around the world operating in a context of radical uncertainty and the recent challenge has further intensified with the conflict in Ukraine. It has led to Increasing prices of fertilizers and inaccessibility of Ukrainian exports that have made a delicate situation potentially dire, as 800 million people now go hungry each night.

The "world of work" is being buffeted by multiple crises, says the ninth edition of the International Labour Organisation Monitor. About 11.2 crore jobs might have been lost between this period, according to the report. Several global crises are hampering labour market recovery, especially in developing countries. Driven by disruptions triggered by the conflict in Ukraine, the increase in food and energy prices is hurting poor households and small businesses, especially those operating in the informal economy, as per a new report from the International Labour Organization. Elevated inflation, disruptions to global supply chains, heightened financial stress, and monetary policy tightening are likely to further deteriorate labour markets around the world.

There is sky-high inflation especially in food and energy prices, disruptions to global supply chains, heightened financial stress, and monetary policy tightening are likely to further deteriorate labour markets around the world. Further, the recent containment measures implemented in China account for 86 per cent of the global decline in hours worked in the first quarter of 2022. Globally, the level of hours worked is expected to drop further in the second quarter of 2022, an evolution that is mainly driven by China’s continued lockdown measures, and will be exacerbated by developments related to the war in Ukraine.

The “great divergence” between richer and poorer economies continues to characterize the labour market recovery in 2022. In contrast, the gender gap in low- and middle-income countries remains larger than the pre-pandemic level despite some progress. Both India and lower-middle-income countries excluding India experienced a deterioration of the gender gap in hours in the second quarter of 2020.

However, because the initial level of hours worked by women in India was very low, the reduction in hours worked by women in India has only a weak influence on the aggregate for lower-middle-income countries. In contrast, the reduction in hours worked by men in India has a large impact on the aggregates. In India Startups have also resorted to shutting down non-core verticals, rationalising marketing and advertising spends and have gone on a hiring freeze, as they enter a bleak period, after a blockbuster funding party that lasted for nearly two years.

As per the records, startups have fired over 5,000 employees so far this year. It has led to intense competition between private equity and venture capital firms over the last two years, thanks to the abundant liquidity in the system and rapid adoption of technology, which led them to deploy billions in tech startups.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA