International Labour Organization (ILO) Note

COVID-19 and world of

work: Impacts and
responses
18 March 2020

This note offers the ILO’s preliminary assessment concerning the possible
impacts of COVID-19 on the world of work and proposes a range of policy
options to mitigate these impacts and facilitate strong and fast recovery.

We will update this note as new data and information become available in
this rapidly evolving situation.

For interviews, please contact newsroom@ilo.org

Consult our website for regular updates from the world of work response to the
COVID-19 crisis.

ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus
1. Current situation: Why are labour markets
important?
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has already infected almost 170,000 people in 148
countries, resulting in more than 6,500 deaths,1 has the potential to reach a large
proportion of the global population. Some estimates suggest that 40-70 per cent of the
world’s population could become infected.2

The crisis has already transformed into an economic and labour market shock, impacting
not only supply (production of goods and services) but also demand (consumption and
investment). Disruptions to production, initially in Asia, have now spread to supply chains
across the world. All businesses, regardless of size, are facing serious challenges, especially
those in the aviation, tourism and hospitality industries, with a real threat of significant declines
in revenue, insolvencies and job losses in specific sectors. Sustaining business operations will be
particularly difficult for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Following travel bans, border
closures and quarantine measures, many workers cannot move to their places of work or carry
out their jobs, which has knock-on effects on incomes, particularly for informal and casually-
employed workers. Consumers in many economies are unable or reluctant to purchase goods
and services. Given the current environment of uncertainty and fear, enterprises are likely to
delay investments, purchases of goods and the hiring of workers.

Prospects for the economy and the quantity and quality of employment are deteriorating
rapidly. While updated forecasts vary considerably -- and largely underestimate the situation --
they all point to a significant negative impact on the global economy, at least in the first half of
2020.3 These worrisome figures show growing signs of a global economic recession.

Swift and coordinated policy responses are needed at national and global level, with
strong multilateral leadership, to limit the direct health effects of COVID-19 on workers
and their families, while mitigating the indirect economic fallout across the global
economy. Protecting workers and their families from the risk of infection needs to be a top
priority. Demand-side measures to protect those facing income losses because of infection or
reduced economic activity are critical to stimulating the economy. Income protection also
mitigates the disincentives against disclosing potential infections, especially amongst low-
income and already disadvantaged groups of workers.

1 Figures for 16 March; Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science Engineering Dashboard,
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
2 Baldwin, R. and B.W. Di Mauro 2020. Economics in the Time of Covid-19. CEPR. https://voxeu.org/content/economics-time-covid-19
3 See for example UNCTAD, https://unctad.org/en/pages/PressRelease.aspx?OriginalVersionID=548

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Deeper institutional and policy reforms are also required to strengthen demand-led
recovery and build resilience through robust and universal social protection systems that can
act as automatic economic and social stabilizers in the face of crises. This will also help to
rebuild trust in institutions and governments.

Tripartite social dialogue between Governments and Workers’ and Empoyers’

organizations is a key tool for developing and implementing sustainable solutions, from
the community level to the global level. This requires strong, independent and democratic
social partner organizations.

The Great Recession and other crises have shown that we can prevent the risk of a vicious
downward cycle only through large-scale, coordinated and decisive policy measures.

2. Impacts: How will COVID-19 affect the world

of work?
COVID-19 will have far-reaching impacts on labour market outcomes. Beyond the urgent
concerns about the health of workers and their families, the virus and the subsequent economic
shocks will impact the world of work across three key dimensions: 1) The quantity of jobs (both
unemployment and underemployment); 2) The quality of work (e.g. wages and access to social
protection); and 3) Effects on specific groups who are more vulnerable to adverse labour market
outcomes.

Impact on global unemployment and underemployment

Initial ILO estimates point to a significant rise in unemployment and underemployment in

the wake of the virus. Based on different scenarios for the impact of COVID-19 on global GDP
growth (see Annex I), preliminary ILO estimates indicate a rise in global unemployment of
between 5.3 million (“low” scenario) and 24.7 million (“high” scenario) from a base level of 188
million in 2019. The “mid” scenario suggests an increase of 13 million (7.4 million in high-income
countries). Though these estimates remain highly uncertain, all figures indicate a substantial
rise in global unemployment. For comparison, the global financial crisis of 2008-9 increased
unemployment by 22 million.

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Figure 1: Impact of declining global growth on unemployment based on three scenarios, world and
income groups (millions)

40
Increase in unemployment

30
24.7
(millions)

14.6
20 13.0

7.4 7.4
10 5.3 2.8 4.1
2.9
0.7 1.5 1.7
0
low mid high low mid high low mid high low mid high
World Lower-middle income Upper-middle income High income

Point estimate Lower bound Upper bound

Note: The figure shows the estimated unemployment impact based on three GDP growth scenarios simulated by
McKibbin and Fernando (2020). The error bounds present the range of uncertainty stemming from the
unemployment projection model but taking the GDP growth scenario as given.

Underemployment is also expected to increase on a large scale. As witnessed in previous

crises, the shock to labour demand is likely to translate into significant downward adjustments
to wages and working hours. While self-employment does not typically react to economic
downturns, it acts as a “default” option for survival or maintaining income - often in the informal
economy. For this reason, informal employment tends to increase during crises. However, the
current limitations on the movement of people and goods may restrict this type of coping
mechanism.

The decline in economic activity and constraints on people’s movements is impacting both
manufacturing and services. The most recent data shows that the total value added of
industrial enterprises in China declined by 13.5 per cent during the first two months of 2020.4
Global and regional supply chains have been disrupted. The services sector, tourism, travel and
retail are especially vulnerable. An initial assessment by the World Trade and Tourism Council
forecasts a decline in international arrivals of up to 25 per cent in 2020, which would place
millions of jobs at risk.

4 National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202003/t20200316_1732244.html

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Implications for labour income and working poverty

Labour supply is declining because of quarantine measures and a fall in economic activity.
At this point, a preliminary estimate (up to 10 March) suggests that infected workers have
already lost nearly 30,000 work months, with the consequent loss of income (for unprotected
workers). Employment impacts imply large income losses for workers. Overall losses in
labour income are expected in the range of between 860 and 3,440 billion USD. The loss of
labour income will translate into lower consumption of goods and services, which is detrimental
to the continuity of businesses and ensuring that economies are resilient.

Table 1: Estimated decline in labour income and increase in extreme and moderate working poverty
(<$US 3.20 per day, PPP), 2020

Income group Low Mid High

Labour income (US$ billion) -860 -1,720 -3,440

Extreme and moderate working poverty (millions)

World 8.8 20.1 35.0

Low income 1.2 2.9 5.0

Lower-middle income 3.7 8.5 14.8

Upper-middle income 3.6 8.3 14.5

Note: Working poverty estimates pertain to an absolute poverty threshold (below US$3.20 at PPP) for 138 low-
and middle-income countries. This analysis excludes potential impacts on working poverty in high-income
countries.

Working poverty is also likely to increase significantly. The strain on incomes resulting from
the decline in economic activity will devastate workers close to or below the poverty line. The
growth impacts of the virus used for the unemployment estimates above suggest an additional
8.8 million people in working poverty around the world than originally estimated (i.e. an overall
decline of 5.2 million working poor in 2020 compared to a decline of 14 million estimated pre-
COVID-19). Under the mid and high scenarios, there will be between 20.1 million and 35.0
million more people in working poverty than before the pre-COVID-19 estimate for 2020.5

5These estimates are uncertain insofar as it remains unclear how low- and middle-income countries will be affected. If the virus impacts
these economies to the same extent, the impact on working poverty will be much greater.

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Who are particularly vulnerable?

Epidemics and economic crises can have a disproportionate impact on certain segments
of the population, which can trigger worsening inequality6 Based on past experience and
current information on the COVID-19 pandemic and insights from previous crises, a number of
groups can be identified:

• Those with underlying health conditions and older people are most at risk of developing
serious health issues.
• Young persons, already facing higher rates of unemployment and underemployment, are
more vulnerable to falling labour demand, as witnessed during the global financial crisis.
Older workers can also suffer from economic vulnerabilities. After the MERS outbreak, older
workers were found to be more likely than prime-age individuals to experience higher
unemployment and underemployment rates, as well as decreased working hours.7
• Women are over-represented in more affected sectors (such as services) or in occupations
that are at the front line of dealing with the pandemic (e.g. nurses). The ILO estimates that
58.6 per cent of employed women work in the services sector around the world, compared
to 45.4 per cent of men. Women also have less access to social protection and will bear a
disproportionate burden in the care economy, in the case of closure of schools or care
systems (ILO, 2018).8
• Unprotected workers, including the self-employed, casual and gig workers, are likely to be
disproportionately hit by the virus as they do not have access to paid or sick leave
mechanisms, and are less protected by conventional social protection mechanisms and
other forms of income smoothing.
• Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which will
constrain both their ability to access their places of work in destination countries and return
to their families.

6 See for example Lee, A. and J. Cho 2016. The impact of epidemics on labor market: identifying victims of the Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome in the Korean labour market. Int J Equity Health. 2016; 15: 196.
7 Lee and Cho 2016 (ibid).
8 ILO (2018) Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work. ILO, Geneva.

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3. Responses: what are the key policies that will
mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the world
of work?
In times of crisis, International Labour Standards provide a strong foundation for key
policy responses that focus on the crucial role of decent work in achieving a sustained and
equitable recovery. These standards, adopted by representatives of governments, workers’ and
employers’ organizations, provide a human-centred approach to growth and development,
including by triggering policy levers that both stimulate demand and protect workers and
enterprises.9

Policy responses should focus on two immediate goals: Health protection measures and
economic support on both the demand- and supply-side.

• First, workers and employers and their families should be protected from the health risks of
COVID-19. Protective measures at the workplace and across communities should be
introduced and strengthened, requiring large-scale public support and investment.
• Second, timely, large-scale and coordinated policy efforts should be taken to provide
employment and income support and to stimulate the economy and labour demand. These
measures not only cushion enterprises and workers against immediate employment and
income losses, but they also help prevent a chain of supply shocks (e.g. losses in workers’
productivity capacities) and demand shocks (e.g. suppressing consumption among workers
and their families) that could lead to a prolonged economic recession.

Pro-active, large-scale and integrated measures across all policy areas are necessary to
make strong and sustained impacts. Since the crisis is evolving rapidly, careful monitoring of
the direct and indirect effects of all interventions are crucial to ensure policy responses are and
stay relevant.

Building confidence through trust and dialogue is crucial in making policy measures
effective. Especially in times of heightened social tension and a lack of trust in institutions,
strengthened respect for, and reliance on mechanisms of social dialogue creates a strong basis
for building the commitment of employers and workers to the joint action with governments.
Enterprise-level social dialogue is also crucial.

9 Key lessons from previous crises, including the GFC and SARS/MERS are outlined in Annex II.

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Policy framework: Three key pillars to fight Covid-19 based on International
Labour Standards

Stimulating the Supporting

Protecting workers in
economy and labour employment and
the workplace
demand incomes

Strengthen OSH measures Extending social protection

Active fiscal policy
for all
Adapt work arrangements
(e.g. teleworking)
Employment retention -
Prevent discrimination and Accommodative monetary
short-time work, paid leave,
exclusion policy
and other subsidies

Provide health access for all

Lending and financial
Financial/tax relief for
support to specific sectors,
Expand access to paid leave MSMEs
incl. the health sector

Protect workers in the workplace to minimize the direct effects of the coronavirus, in line with
WHO recommendations and guidance10

• Improve OSH measures, including social distancing, provision of protective equipment

(especially for health and allied workers, volunteers and others in permanent contact with
people), hygiene procedures and forms of work organization (supported by information and
awareness campaigns), and through social dialogue between employers and workers and
their representatives, using for example OSH committees;
• Encourage appropriate flexible working arrangements, such as teleworking;
• Prevent discrimination and exclusion relating to COVID-19;
• Enhance universal access to collectively-financed health services for all, including uninsured
workers and their families;
• Expand access to collectively-financed paid sick leave, sickness benefits, and parental/care
leave to ensure income security for those who are sick, quarantined or caring for children,
elderly or other family members.

Stimulate the economy and labour demand through economic and employment policies to
stabilize economic activity.

10 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/covid-19-sprp-unct-guidelines.pdf

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• Active fiscal policies, particularly social protection measures, including targeted transfers
and automatic stabilizers, such as unemployment benefits, along with public investment
and tax relief for low-income earners and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs);
• Accommodative monetary policy (interest rate reductions, reserve rate relaxation, targeted
liquidity provisions);
• Targeted lending and financial support for specific sectors to protect enterprises, especially
MSMEs. Investing in health systems is crucial in building resilience against COVID-19 but
also offers an opportunity to create decent jobs.

Protect employment and incomes for enterprises and workers negatively impacted by the
indirect effects (factory closures, disruption to supply chains, travel bans, cancellation of public
events, etc.)

• Social protection through existing schemes and/or ad-hoc payments for workers, including
informal, casual, seasonal and migrant workers, and the self-employed (e.g. through access
to unemployment benefits, social assistance, and public employment programmes);
• Employment retention schemes, including short-time work arrangements/partial
unemployment benefits and other time-bound support for enterprises, such as wage
subsidies [and temporary cuts to payroll tax/exemptions from social security contributions],
provision of paid leave and extension of existing entitlements to workers, and training
leave, grants and related schemes;
• Time-bound financial/tax relief and income smoothing measures to support business
continuity, especially MSMEs and the self-employed (e.g. subsidies, credit mediation/re-
financing to overcome liquidity constraints).

4. Countries in action: How have countries

been responding?
Countries are already responding. During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, a
number of countries have implemented decisive measures to combat the spread of the disease,
while ameliorating its pernicious effect on the economy and labour market across the three
policy pillars: protecting workers in the workplace, stimulating the economy and labour
demand, and supporting employment and income (Table 3).11

11 The policy response is evolving rapidly and the inventory of actions will be regularly updated.

9
Table 3: Selected examples of measures taken in response to COVID-19

Protecting Working arrangements, including telework:

workers in
the Teleworking and staggered hours are being introduced in many countries
workplace at national or workplace level. In order to promote teleworking, financial
support and simpler procedures have been used in Italy and Japan.

Expanded access to paid sick leave:

Provisions for paid sick leave are being made available in many countries for
workers who are unwell or in quarantine. In China, the government has
instructed that salary payments should be made to workers who are unable
to work due to quarantine or illness. Ireland ,Singapore and South Korea
have made sick pay/leave available for the self-employed, while in the UK,
statutory sick pay will be provided for eligible diagnosed or self-isolating
individuals, payable from the first day instead of the fourth.

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) advice:

Advice on workplace OSH measures and responses to concerns by

employers and workers is being provided through hotlines, dedicated
websites, and dissemination of information materials. The Japan Business
Federation (Keidanren) submitted to member companies a questionnaire
about workplace measures against the spread of COVID-19, while the
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO) has established
specialized hotlines.

Prevention of discrimination and exclusion:

Stigmatisation, discrimination and exclusion are being addressed in

different ways in many countries. In Japan, where health workers have
reported COVID19-related harassment, the Ministry of Justice has set up a
webpage with links to hotlines on bullying and harassment.

Other measures:

Other protective measures include childcare support for working parents

in almost all countries where schools and nurseries are closed. In Japan,
JTUC-RENGO is facilitating access to after-school childcare centres to support

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 working parents due to school closures, while support has been announced
for enterprises whose employees need to hire child carers. In Italy, vouchers
are being provided for this purpose as an alternative for leave during
kindergarten school closures. In some areas of Germany, resources are
offered by the government for people offering ad hoc child care.

Stimulating Active fiscal policy and accommodative monetary policy:

the
economy Central banks in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and the US have cut
and labour interest rates. The South Korean government announced a special Support
demand
Package with a budget of 20 trillion KRW in 2020. Italy has introduced tax
breaks and waivers for social security contributions, as well as extensions of
deadlines for repayment of mortgages.

Lending and financial support to specific sectors, including the health

sector:

Financial support to specific sectors has been announced in many

countries. In China, the government has set up a subsidized 300 billion yuan
credit facility for producers of masks and other health-related items. In the
UK, £5 billion have been allocated to the National Health Service (NHS), while
in Ireland, the government has allocated €435m for the Health Service
Executive. In South Korea, tourism and other badly affected sectors have
been identified for increased subsidies and longer periods of support. France
and Germany announced a broad approach to support all sectors that are
affected. Germany announced “unlimited” support for enterprises.

Supporting Work reduction and compensation arrangements:

employment
and incomes Paid reductions in working time/partial unemployment benefits, which
compensate workers for hours not worked, are being expanded and/or
simplified in France, Germany (Kurzarbeit), Italy and the Netherlands.

Employment retention is also being guaranteed/promoted through other

means. In China, the government has issued a notice to ensure that the
contracts of migrant workers are not terminated in the case of illness or
containment measures.

Unemployment benefits have been expanded in several countries. In the

Philippines, the Social Security Scheme (SSS) is prepared to pay

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 unemployment benefits to some 30,000 to 60,000 workers projected to lose
their jobs following possible layoffs or business closures.

Social assistance benefits or other forms of cash transfers are used in some
countries to enhance income security and boost aggregate demand. In Hong
Kong, China, adult residents will receive a one-time cash transfer of $1,280,
which is expected to boost the economy by 1%.

Financial/tax relief (including for enterprises):

Financial support and tax relief are being introduced in a number of

countries. The UK has introduced a guarantee system for 80% of the loan
value for SMEs on lending and overdrafts and will provide an additional £2.2
billion funding for local authorities to support small businesses. In South
Korea, VAT breaks for businesses earning 60 million KRW or less a year and
expansion of the Special Financial Support for small merchants and SMEs
have been announced. In France tax relief measures allow all companies to
defer "without justification, formalities or penalties" the payment of
contributions and taxes due in March 2020. Affected companies could also
benefit from the postponement of social or tax installments or even tax
rebates in the most extreme or difficult situations.

While these measures will no doubt help to contain the pandemic, to respond to the emergency
needs it has generated and to pave the way to a gradual recovery, it is clear that more needs to
be done. Past crises and the experiences of countries, which have reacted too late in the context
of the current COVID-19 crisis, show that preparedness and early action is critical.

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Annex I: Estimating the impact of COVID-19 on the world of work

The ILO actively maintains a series of econometric models that are used to produce estimates
of labour market indicators in the countries and years for which country-reported data are
unavailable. The purpose of estimating labour market indicators for countries with missing data
is to obtain a balanced panel data set so that every year, regional and global aggregates with
consistent country coverage can be computed. These allow the ILO to analyse global and
regional estimates of key labour market indicators and related trends.

Based on the available analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on economic growth (GDP), a number
of scenarios can be investigated to obtain a plausible range for the (un)employment impact of
the virus. The economic estimates used in the ILO’s modelling of the impact on the labour
market draw from McKibbin and Fernando (2020)12 who implement a range of supply and
demand shocks in a global hybrid DSGE/CGE model, with the assumption that during the course
of the year all countries will suffer from the pandemic.13 This study proposes three potential
scenarios based on the strength of the effects of the virus (low, mid and high). Using these
three scenarios results in three sets of unemployment estimates:

• Low” scenario where GDP growth drops by around 2 per cent: Global unemployment would
increase by 5.3 million, with an uncertainty of 3.5 to 7 million.14
• “Mid” scenario where GDP growth drop by 4 per cent: Global unemployment would increase
by 13 million (7.4 million in high-income countries), with an uncertainty of 7.7 to 18.3
million.
• “High” scenario where COVID-19 has serious disruptive effects, reducing GDP growth by
around 8 per cent: Global unemployment would increase by 24.7 million, with an
uncertainty ranging from 13 million to 36 million.

12 McKibbin, W. and R. Fernando (2020) The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: Seven Scenarios.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-global-macroeconomic-impacts-of-covid-19-seven-scenarios/
13 The authors implement the same shocks in all countries. The GDP growth effect differs somewhat between countries, especially

between high- and middle-income countries, but generally are of similar magnitude.
14 This uncertainty stems from the margin of error of the impact of the GDP growth scenario on unemployment.

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Annex II: Lessons from the past: Some key learnings relevant to this crisis

This pandemic is unique in many ways, but there are still lessons we can learn from
previous economic crises (e.g. the global financial crisis) as well as epidemics (e.g. avian and
swine flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola Virus Disease - EVD), which highlight the central role of
employment, social protection and social dialogue in mitigation and recovery policies.

Accurate, consistent, timely and transparent information is essential not just for fighting
the pandemic but also for reducing uncertainty and boosting confidence at all levels of the
economy and society, including the workplace. A decline in, or lack of, confidence affects
consumer spending and business investment, inducing economic slowdown and hampering
recovery.

Workplaces are effective focal points for the dissemination of information,

communication and sensitization on occupational safety and health, including prevention
and protection measures to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. This, in turn, helps
lessen the social and economic impact of such diseases, including by protecting jobs, especially
in the most affected sectors. Workers and employers can work together to advocate for
prevention, raising awareness and building capacity of their members, and implementing
workplace level occupational safety and health practices in line with relevant International
Labour Standards.

Large interventions, rather than piecemeal approaches, make a difference, especially

when endowed with maximum resources (e.g. proactive fiscal policies) and innovative policy
solutions (e.g. new and various types of cash transfer programmes for target groups). This is
critical to maintain the living standard of affected populations and spur demand-led recovery.

Specific segments of the labour force who are hit hardest require particular attention. As
witnessed during the Great Recession, youth and those over 55 years of age usually require
more support in regaining their employment status.15 As learned in the case of the EVD crisis, in
health emergencies some groups are especially vulnerable (for example, health workers, and
women, due to their caregiving role).

A focus on employment, including self-employment, is fundamental to facilitate the

recovery process. Past responses to health emergencies and natural disasters have shown that
employment-intensive investments in health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

15Lee, A and Cho, J (2016) “The impact of epidemics on labor market: identifying victims of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the
Korean labor market” in International Journal Equity Health. 2016

14
infrastructure and services are an important means of immediate job creation in crises. Policies
that support skills development and entrepreneurship cushion the impact of unemployment.

Social protection systems and public infrastructures for social services increase resilience,
allowing societies to cope with emergencies in the immediate term and to mitigate the impact
of possible future crises. Effective and efficient social security systems are powerful economic
and social stabilizers of economies and societies, especially if they are already in place before a
crisis hits. The role of social protection supporting aggregate demand in times of crisis has been
widely recognized. The Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa showed that the lack of social
protection measures in the context of health epidemics aggravates poverty, unemployment and
informality, leading to a vicious circle of even greater fragility.

Preparedness at all levels is essential to mitigate impacts and increase resilience,

protecting jobs, enterprises and livelihoods. Drawing on previous epidemics, business
continuity planning has proved to help navigate the uncertain future and promote business
sustainability by identifying and managing risks; understanding business priorities, key
products and services; establishing response plans; and taking action to minimize disruption
and ensure that the workplace and workers are protected and prepared.

Constructive and persistent social dialogue between governments and social partners
plays a crucial role in developing effective responses at the enterprise, sectoral and
macroeconomic level, as demonstrated by historic economic crises. Governments can neither
tackle the causes and consequences of crisis nor ensure social stability and recovery through
unilateral action. Social dialogue is an irreplaceable tool of balanced crisis management and
accelerating recovery as well as an essential governance instrument with regard to change.
Confirmed channels of communication and continued dialogue with the government are key to
allow workers’ and employers’ organizations to manage enterprise restructuring in a
sustainable way and preserving jobs.

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