Employment Seminar Series
Labour overview of Latin America and the Caribbean in times of COVID-19
EMPLOYMENT Seminar #39 - This seminar will present an updated overview of labour and income indicators of Latin America and the Caribbean since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to the end of 2021 to better understand the impact as well as the stage of recovery and serve as a basis to see which employment and labour market policies had an impact.
Background
Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery of labour markets and incomes in Latin America and the Caribbean has been insufficient and uneven.
At the outbreak of the pandemic, the region was undergoing a period of economic slowdown, if not reversal, of improvements observed in labour market performance in previous years. At the same time, the region’s structural characteristics persisted, with high incidence of labour informality, low average incomes, significant wage gaps, and weaknesses in social protection in terms of coverage and adequacy of benefits. It is therefore not surprising that, notwithstanding the implementation of a wide spectrum of response policies, the economic collapse had a disproportionate impact on certain population groups, widening the region’s existing wage and social gaps.
The partial recovery of employment has been led by growth of informal employment. These jobs have accounted for around 70 per cent of the net creation of jobs in several countries in the region. Female employment has experienced a faster recovery than male employment but without completely offsetting the more unfavourable dynamics experienced by women at the beginning of the crisis. In addition, the increase in employment during the recovery phase generated a reduction of the negative trend of labour incomes. Despite this, in the third quarter of 2021 this figure was still below that of 2019. Finally, the unequalizing impact of labour incomes contrasts with the equalizing effect of the cash transfer programmes put in place in several countries in the region. Itis therefore relevant to comprehensively analyze the impacts of the crisis two years after its outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy Department (EMPLOYMENT)
Presentation:
Roxana Maurizio, Regional specialist on labour economics, Latin America and the Caribbean
Discussants:
At the outbreak of the pandemic, the region was undergoing a period of economic slowdown, if not reversal, of improvements observed in labour market performance in previous years. At the same time, the region’s structural characteristics persisted, with high incidence of labour informality, low average incomes, significant wage gaps, and weaknesses in social protection in terms of coverage and adequacy of benefits. It is therefore not surprising that, notwithstanding the implementation of a wide spectrum of response policies, the economic collapse had a disproportionate impact on certain population groups, widening the region’s existing wage and social gaps.
The partial recovery of employment has been led by growth of informal employment. These jobs have accounted for around 70 per cent of the net creation of jobs in several countries in the region. Female employment has experienced a faster recovery than male employment but without completely offsetting the more unfavourable dynamics experienced by women at the beginning of the crisis. In addition, the increase in employment during the recovery phase generated a reduction of the negative trend of labour incomes. Despite this, in the third quarter of 2021 this figure was still below that of 2019. Finally, the unequalizing impact of labour incomes contrasts with the equalizing effect of the cash transfer programmes put in place in several countries in the region. Itis therefore relevant to comprehensively analyze the impacts of the crisis two years after its outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Objective of the seminar
This seminar will present an updated overview of labour market and income indicators of Latin America and the Caribbean since the onset the COVID-19 pandemic to the end of 2021 to better understand the impact as well as the stage of recovery and serve as a basis to see what employment and labour market policies had an impact.Participants
Chair:Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy Department (EMPLOYMENT)
Presentation:
Roxana Maurizio, Regional specialist on labour economics, Latin America and the Caribbean
Discussants:
- Sukti Dasgupta, Chief, Employment and Labour Markets and Youth branch (EMPLAB)
- Florence Bonnet, Work Quality Specialist, Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions branch (INWORK)