Investing in Jobs and Social Protection for Poverty Eradication and a Sustainable Recovery

In 2020, an estimated 8.8 per cent of total working hours, equivalent to the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers, were lost. This corresponds to a loss of US$ 3.7 trillion in labour income before government support. The crisis-induced jobs shortfall relative to pre-crisis trends is estimated to be 75 million in 2021 and 23 million in 2022.1 While the wealth of billionaires increased by over US$ 3.9 trillion between March and December 2020, the impact of the pandemic on the world of work, among other factors, increased the number of extremely poor by between 119 and 124 million people — the first increase in poverty in over 21 years.

The impacts of the pandemic on the world of work also disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable, especially women in the informal economy. Workers in the informal economy have been three times more likely to lose their jobs than those in formal employment arrangements, and have suffered from disproportionate decline in their income. Women’s employment declined by 5 per cent in 2020, compared with 3.9 per cent for men.