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Virus Labor Market Damage Could Equate to 305 Million Jobs

  • ILO estimates working hours will fall 10.5% this quarter
  • Warns that 1.6 billion informal workers particularly at risk
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Covid-19 Puts Jobs of 1.6 Billion Global Workers at Risk: ILO

The damage to labor markets around the world is proving far more severe than initially estimated after governments extended shutdowns to damp the spread of the coronavirus.

The International Labour Organization said Wednesday that working hours will be 10.5% lower this quarter than before the crisis started, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs. The figure marks what it described as a “significant deterioration” on its previous estimate of 195 million jobs.