OECD "110 Million Jobs Lost Worldwide Due to COVID-19"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] It is estimated that over 110 million people worldwide lost their jobs due to COVID-19 over the past year.

According to the "Annual Employment Outlook" report released on the 8th by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 114 million people worldwide lost their jobs last year due to COVID-19.

Focusing only on OECD member countries, 22 million people lost their jobs. Among them, 8 million are still seeking employment, while the remaining 14 million are considered economically inactive as they are not actively looking for work.

The OECD estimated that up to 21 million jobs were preserved through various job retention policies, but pointed out that there is a risk of rising long-term unemployment rates as those who lost their jobs are struggling to find new ones.

It also forecasted that the overall employment situation would recover to pre-pandemic levels by the third quarter of 2023.

However, while South Korea's employment rate is expected to recover by the third quarter of this year alongside countries like Germany and Greece, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are projected to reach pre-COVID-19 levels only by the end of 2023, showing differences among countries.

Meanwhile, the OECD pointed out that youth employment was severely impacted by COVID-19 last year. It estimated that the number of so-called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) increased by about 3 million.

Additionally, the rise of remote work was seen as a positive aspect of the COVID-19 situation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.