BSS-30,31 More than one in six young people stopped working due to COVID-19: ILO

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More than one in six young people stopped working due to COVID-19: ILO

DHAKA, May 27, 2020 (BSS) – More than one in six young people have
stopped working since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while those
who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 percent,
says the International Labour Organization (ILO).

According to the ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work: 4th
edition, youth are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic,
and the substantial and rapid increase in youth unemployment seen
since February is affecting young women more than young men, said a
press release.

The pandemic is inflicting a triple shock on young people. Not only
is it destroying their employment, but it is also disrupting education
and training, and placing major obstacles in the way of those seeking
to enter the labour market or to move between jobs.

At 13.6 percent, the youth unemployment rate in 2019 was already
higher than for any other group. There were around 267 million young
people not in employment, education or training (NEET) worldwide.

Those 15-24 year olds who were employed were also more likely to be
in forms of work that leave them vulnerable, such as low paid
occupations, informal sector work, or as migrant workers.

“The COVID-19 economic crisis is hitting young people – especially
women – harder and faster than any other group. If we do not take
significant and immediate action to improve their situation, the
legacy of the virus could be with us for decades. If their talent and
energy is side-lined by a lack of opportunity or skills it will damage
all our futures and make it much more difficult to re-build a better,
post-COVID economy,” said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder.

The Monitor calls for urgent, large-scale and targeted policy
responses to support youth, including broad-based employment/training
guarantee programmes in developed countries, and employment-intensive
programmes and guarantees in low- and middle-income economies.

“The pandemic is inflicting a real shock on Bangladesh’s vulnerable
youth population,” said Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director of ILO
Bangladesh.

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“Job prospects have vastly reduced. For youth to be provided paths
for positive future, education and skills training need to be greatly
invested in. Sadly, young women workers – who were already struggling
in low-paid and informal sector jobs – are being worst hit.”

The ILO is working together with the government to design and
develop education and skills development schemes, entrepreneurship
training, as well as employment and training guarantee schemes that
specifically target young people, particularly those who are the most
vulnerable, he added.

The 4th edition of the Monitor also looks at measures to create a
safe environment for returning to work. It says that rigorous testing
and tracing (TT) of COVID-19 infections, “is strongly related to lower
labour market disruption…. [and] substantially smaller social
disruptions than confinement and lockdown measures.”

In countries with strong testing and tracing, the average fall in
working hours is reduced by as much as 50 per cent. There are three
reasons for this: TT reduces reliance on strict confinement measures;
promotes the public confidence and so encourages consumption and
supports employment; and helps minimise operational disruption at the
workplace.

In addition, testing and tracing can itself create new jobs, even
if temporary, which can be targeted towards youth and other priority
groups.

The Monitor highlights the importance of managing data privacy
concerns. Cost is also a factor, but the benefit-to-cost ratio of TT
is “highly favourable”.

“Creating an employment-rich recovery that also promotes equity and
sustainability means getting people and enterprises working again as
soon as possible, in safe conditions,” said Ryder.

“Testing and tracing can be an important part of the policy package
if we are to fight fear, reduce risk and get our economies and
societies moving again quickly.”

The Monitor also updates the estimate for the decline in working
hours in the first and second quarters of 2020, compared with the
fourth quarter of 2019.

An estimated 4.8 per cent of working hours were lost during Q1 2020
(equivalent to approximately 135 million full-time jobs, assuming a
48-hour working week). This represents a slight upward revision of
around 7 million jobs since the third edition of the Monitor. The
estimated number of jobs lost in Q2 remain unchanged at 305 million.

From a regional perspective, the Americas (13.1 per cent), and
Europe and Central Asia (12.9 per cent) present the largest losses in
hours worked in Q2.

The Monitor reiterates its call for immediate and urgent measures
to support workers and enterprises along the ILO’s four-pillar
strategy: stimulating the economy and employment; supporting
enterprises, jobs and incomes; protecting workers in the workplace;
relying on social dialogue for solutions.

In Bangladesh, every year, two-million young men and women enter
the labour market.

In 2016-17, 1.78-million jobs were created. Around 60 percent of
the population is of working age; 32.4m workers are aged 15-29.

The country is yet to capitalise on this young ‘demographic
dividend’. The country needs more training, apprenticeships and
entrepreneurship opportunities, it said.

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