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

What is the News?

The “world of work” report has been released by International Labour Organisation.

What are the key findings of the “world of work” report?

Working hours: After significant gains during the last quarter of 2021, the number of hours worked globally dropped in the first quarter of 2022, to 3.8% below the employment situation.

Job loss: About 11.2 crore jobs might have been lost during this period, according to the report.

The growing divergence between richer and poorer economies: While high-income countries experienced a recovery in hours worked, low- and lower-middle-income economies suffered setbacks in the first quarter of the year with a 3.6 and 5.7% gap respectively when compared to the pre-crisis benchmark.

Reason for reduction of working hours: The fresh lockdowns in China, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the global rise in the prices of food and fuel.

Financial turbulence, potential debt distress and global supply chain disruptions are growing risks of a further deterioration in working hours in 2022.

Findings related to India

Job loss: For every 100 women at work prior to the pandemic, 12.3 women would have lost their job as an average through the entire period. In contrast, for every 100 men, the equivalent figure would have been 7.5.

Hence, the pandemic seems to have exacerbated the already substantial gender imbalances in employment participation in the country.

Deterioration of the gender gap in work hours: India and lower-middle-income countries excluding India experienced a deterioration of the gender gap in work hours in the second quarter of 2020.

Working standards: The report mentions that there is no decent employment in India.

This is because a) Most people are on contract without any social security. If there are no decent wages, purchasing power will also come down, b) The Code on Wages was passed in 2019 but is not yet implemented, c) The Wage Committee in 1948 asked the government to implement a minimum wage, living wage and a decent wage. But, India did not implement even minimum wage due to pressure from industrialists.

What are the suggestions provided by the report?

a) The purchasing capacity of the workers should be improved, b) countries has to take a humane approach to address the worker’s situation, c) Indian government has to find ways to create more jobs.

Source: The post is based on the article “World lost 11.2 crore jobs in the first quarter of 2022: ILO” published in The Hindu on 24th May 2022.